QuickCheck: Are traders switching labels of local and imported rice?

RECENTLY, a claim went viral; it alleged that unscrupulous traders were switching labels on white rice from "Super Special Local” (SST) to "Super Special Import” (SSI) to get a quick profit.

Is there any truth to this?

VERDICT:

FALSE

Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu has said that surveillance and investigation by his ministry have not turned up any evidence to support the allegations.

“There is a lot of chatter regarding the claim that the labels on locally grown rice have been switched with that of imported grain. So far, no official reports have been made despite our efforts to investigate the matter,” he said.

He said this when met by reporters after the meet-and-greet programme with the Southern National Farmers Organisation (Nafas) at Muar Traders Hotel here on Monday (Aug 28).

Mohamad then said that the ministry's Padi Industry Development Division director-general Datuk Azman Mahmood also met with industry players on Saturday (Aug 26) to get information on the matter.

On July 20, the Agriculture and Food Industry Ministry had said that it did not find any evidence of such practices as switching locally grown rice with imported ones.

He added that the current focus of the ministry is to strengthen the national food security agenda to better prepare the country in case of an emergency.

“We don't want to wait for some crisis to happen that results in a lack of food in the country; that is our promise,” he said.