Fact-Check: How true is a claim of production of deadly “artificial rice”? 

Fact-Check: How true is a claim of production of deadly “artificial rice”? 

Claim: A widely shared video on WhatsApp claims that there is a massive production of an “artificial rice” which is deadly for consumption somewhere in an undisclosed location. 

Full-Text: The text that accompanied the footage reads: “they are killing us. Artificial rice production. Better to eat our local rice.” 

The video showed some Asian looking men by the fire side with wide frying pans which contains a black substance that is first heated and made to absorb the white rice before it is stirred.

The substance instantly pops into white looking rice as soon as a measured quantity of what should be rice is poured into it, its then stirred and offloaded and the circle continues. 

Verification: An online search by PRNigeria revealed that the video in circulation originated from an Instagram account—@veggie bite.

Findings reveal that what was shown in the video is identified as “Pori Rice,” a local North Indian staple. 

A publication by an online news outlet reveals that the video was shared by an Instagram user to show their audience how the Pori is produced by a local industry. 

According to the story, the rice is warmed in a pan first, and water or oil is added and reheated. Then it is added to the sand filled in a big kadai—sand-made pot—kept in the oven. 

According to PRNigeria‘s research, Pori is prepared from rice. It is mostly used by Northern Indians during festivals. It is used as an ingredient in some of their dishes and “crispy laddu with jaggery.” 

The pori is formed by lying on this sand. From this, the pori is scooped out in a bowl. While the sand is separated, the pori is piled together. 

Pori, also called puri, parmal, mudhi, murmura, murmuri, borugulu, maramaralu in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana as other regional names and Puffed rice in English is commonly used in breakfast cereal or snack foods, and served as a popular street food in India, Bangladesh and Nepal. Puffed rice is an ingredient of bhel puri, a popular Indian chaat (snack).

According to India Times, Puffed rice offers important vitamins and minerals without adding excess sodium, fat, or cholesterol, says Debjani Banerjee, Incharge Dietetics, PSRI Hospital New Delhi. 

Conclusion: Facts gathered by PRNigeria revealed that the substance seen in the video is not an artificial production of rice but rather the preparation of Puffed/Pori rice an Indian subcontinental staple which also has nutritious value. 

Therefore, PRNigeria, concludes that the claim that it is a deadly artificial rice production is FALSE. 

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By PRNigeria