Sunland Rice Import Controversy: From Contamination Suspicions to Commercial Violations

Today, there are different varieties of rice that are the same in appearance and grain length, but have a price difference of up to 100%. This difference in rice variety cannot be detected at customs, and sometimes rice with other varieties may enter the country as 1121 rice, which has a lower price value than 1121 rice.

This may have happened in the case of Sunland rice, but in terms of health and safety factors for consumption, if this rice has received the necessary approvals from the Food and Drug Administration, it can be said that this rice is free from contamination and harmful to human health.

The imported rice was declared as 997 euros per ton, while the actual value of the rice in the bag may be less than the declared value. In this case, the issue of wastage of public funds is raised. The only way to accurately value this commodity is for the competent authorities to send a sample of this shipment to the Eurofins laboratory in Germany to identify the DNA of the varieties used in this rice.