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AN incident of imported rice being repacked and mislabeled as local rice to sell at higher prices has been discovered by the Bureau of Plant Industry.

A report from the bureau’s Plant Product Safety Services Division said it analyzed six milled rice samples from Cogon Market in Cagayan de Oro City and Commonwealth Market in Quezon City.

The samples were analyzed using the Philippine National Standard for rice grading and classification, together with statistical origin profiling.

The bureau found a misalignment between one of the sample’s classification results and its declared origin. One sample that was supposedly locally sourced showed characteristics more closely aligned with imported rice.

This indicates misrepresentation in retail labeling, the bureau said, raising concerns over possible substitution or relabeling along the supply chain’s classification results and its declared origin.

Meanwhile, two imported rice samples collected from the Commonwealth Market were found to be properly declared, and were, respectively classified as Premium and Grade 1 imported rice.

This shows stronger compliance with milling quality standards in the percentage of broken grain content.

Three samples were also identified to be properly declared as locally sourced rice.

While the testing involved a small sample size, the discrepancies show risks in rice marketing practices, bureau officials said.

“The findings suggest a widening gap in quality and pricing dynamics, where imported rice — often cheaper at wholesale — may be repackaged or mislabeled as local rice to command higher retail prices, leveraging consumer preference for domestic varieties,” the bureau said.

There must be stronger traceability systems, stricter enforcement of labeling rules and tighter market surveillance to protect consumers, the bureau added.

“We need further testing and validation to ensure consumers are not being shortchanged by unscrupulous rice traders,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said.

Source : msn