Food, Drug Control Agency Sends Rice Test Results to Police

Jakarta, May 25 (Antara) -- Head of the Food and Drug Control Agency (BPOM) Roy Sparingga said here on Monday that the results of the tests conducted on samples of suspected "plastic" rice have been submitted to the police. "We have already submitted the results of the test conducted on the samples to the police for a follow-up, but I cannot reveal them," he stated. He added that the agency only gave the laboratory test results, not any recommendations. The tests were carried out to confirm whether the rice samples contained plastic substances as reported, Sparingga pointed out. People in the country were startled by reports on the discovery of synthetic rice suspected to be made of plastic material and imported from China. In response to the issue, President Joko Widodo stated recently, "Tests are being carried out by three laboratories, including the Bogor Institute of Agriculture and a general laboratory, to confirm (whether it is true). So let us wait for the results." During an event on Car-Free Day in Solo, Central Java, on Sunday, he noted that the motive behind the case---wherein synthetic rice was found in a food stall in Bekasi, West Java---was profit, but it was illogical because the price of plastic rice was reported to be higher than that of true rice. Furthermore, Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman said that selling plastic rice was not profitable because its price was higher. "In terms of business, it was not profitable as the plastic rice was priced at Rp12,000 per kilogram, while true rice is Rp7,300 per kilogram," he explained in his office on Monday. Perhaps there was another agenda behind the circulation of the synthetic rice besides profit, he remarked, adding that he did not know what this other motive could be. In addition, the minister affirmed that his office had checked markets in connection with the issue and hoped that it is settled posthaste. "We have already checked markets, and the case is now in the hands of the police," he said. Minister Sulaiman has appealed to people to buy domestic rice to ensure that they do not consume such synthetic rice. "Let us learn a lesson from this. As Indonesian citizens, let us consume our own products," he remarked. Moreover, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said recently, "I neither know the motive, nor what it is like. But I do not think people need to be worried about it." He assured the public that the government will monitor the case closely and was still studying the cause of the problem.