Proconsumidor says it will analyze rice samples

Santiago De Los Caballeros – Given the complaints about the alleged contamination with heavy metals of a large part of the rice consumed by the population, the National Institute for the Protection of Consumer Rights (Proconsumidor) said that it is surveying to collect samples of the cereal, which will be sent to different laboratories in the country to be investigated.

This was stated yesterday by Eddy Alcantara, the director of the agency attached to Industry and Commerce, who said that about a thousand samples had been collected to verify the complaints.

“By obligation, we had to go out to the market to collect the tests, which would be in their final phase, to send them to the laboratories, and as soon as we have the results, we will inform the population,” he said.

He said that imported rice is also being mixed with nationally produced rice.

He warned that if it is proven in the investigation that the rice has substances harmful to health and is also mixed with imported rice, the responsible party will be sanctioned. The product will be withdrawn from the market. He considered that there has always been talk of product mixtures in the country, but it has been done with the intention of lowering the price.

The National Federation of Rice Producers has revealed that a study by the University of Michigan, published in February of this year, found that the cereal sent to Haiti has high concentrations of arsenic and cadmium that can cause cancer. The study also expresses concern about the sale of American rice in the Dominican Republic.