After Plastic Rice, now Plastic Sugar rumours grip social media

Social media platforms Facebook and Twitter have been flooded with rumours of plastic rice in Telengana and Andhra Pradesh for the past few days.

BusinessToday.In

New Delhi,
Updated Jun 8, 2017 9:09 PM IST

After Plastic Rice, now Plastic Sugar rumours grip social media

Even as rumours of plastic rice do rounds, new fear of plastic sugar has gripped social media. People in parts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana were alarmed when reports said that plastic rice was being sold in stores. The fear has now multiplied with reports of plastic sugar emerging. Food authorities have rubbished the reports of plastic rice as fake and baseless, but are yet to share their views on plastic sugar.

Social media platforms Facebook and Twitter have been flooded with rumours of plastic rice in Telengana and Andhra Pradesh for the past few days. Even though there has been no proof of the existence of plastic rice, tips on how to test whether the rice you are eating is made of plastic have gone viral.

Plastic sugar being sold in Bengaluru markets, creating panic among the residents who are now exercising caution while buying the commodity. pic.twitter.com/8b5Leb2LdI

ANI (@ANI_news) June 7, 2017

Please note there was a correction to this Tweet later on saying, "#Correction Plastic sugar is being sold in Hassan (Karnataka) and not Bengaluru as earlier reported."

Much like plastic rice, there is no definite proof of the existence of plastic sugar. Many questions would arise if such a thing were true. Why would anyone produce plastic sugar or plastic rice? Wouldn't the cost of production of plastic rice and plastic sugar be as expensive as actual sugar and rice?

The idea of someone producing plastic rice or plastic sugar defies logic, but it remains to be seen if there is more to the story than just plain rumours. According to reports, authorities in Andhra Pradesh are planning to conduct raids on rice mills and godowns across to collect samples for lab tests.

These raids may be able to find out if there is something fishy going on in godowns. Consumers meanwhile are becoming increasing suspicious about the quality of the food they are consuming.

Plastic sugar being sold in Bengaluru markets, creating panic among the residents who are now exercising caution while buying the commodity. pic.twitter.com/8b5Leb2LdI
ANI (@ANI_news) June 7, 2017

What's happening???What are we having man. This is scary. Plastic egg, Plastic rice and now #Plasticsugar https://t.co/g6MufgwSOP
Yeshi Phaichulpa (@yeshicnp) June 7, 2017

Mera Bharat Mahaan...from being rice bowl to the world now we are on the verge of eating #PlasticRice #PlasticSugar #PlasticVegetables
Suresh Dendukuri (@dsureshd) June 8, 2017