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Porridge seller uses YouTube to conclude rice is synthetic
Dewi Septriani, a porridge seller who uploaded pictures of allegedly synthetic rice on social media, said on Saturday she made her conclusion that the rice was fake based on the YouTube videos and television reports about synthetic rice imported from China
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ewi Septriani, a porridge seller who uploaded pictures of allegedly synthetic rice on social media, said on Saturday she made her conclusion that the rice was fake based on the YouTube videos and television reports about synthetic rice imported from China.
She said she bought six liters of the synthetic rice on May 13 from a stall at the Tanah Merah traditional market, Bekasi, West Java. She became suspicious when the rice failed to turn into porridge. The rice did not mix with water and did not soften as it expanded.
'When I tasted it, it was bitter. I thought there was something wrong. I then remembered the videos I saw on YouTube and on the television about synthetic rice from China. The signs were similar. So I thought, this might be it,' she said on a talk show in Menteng, Central Jakarta.
She then uploaded controversial pictures of what she claimed was synthetic rice, which prompted the investigation by the Bekasi administration, Trade Ministry and the National Police, among others.
The rice seller, identified as S, has been arrested by the Bantar Gebang Police along with his four employees. The case was then transferred to the Bekasi Police.
Dewi was also questioned as a witness by the Bantar Gebang Police on Tuesday and Bekasi Police on Thursday.
She said she would attend another questioning with the Bekasi Police on Monday, along with her sister and nephew, who consumed the synthetic rice.
The sample of rice reportedly from Bekasi has since been taken to the lab of state owned survey company PT Sucofindo and the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM).
PT Sucofindo has confirmed that the rice contains chemical substances such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) usually found in pipes, as well as plasticizer substances usually found in hydraulic tools and electric capacitors. (fsu)(++++)
