What "rice"! The origin labeling of Dongmixi Nian is confusing

Many consumers particularly like to buy rice produced in the Hualien and Taitung regions. However, some packaged rice on the market is called Hualien and Taitung rice, and the origin is marked as Taiwan. At first glance, it makes people think that the rice comes from the east, but the actual place of origin may be Changhua. In addition, there is also packaged rice marked as third-grade rice, but consumer protection groups found that it did not meet the standards after testing, which may have violated the Food Management Law and was false advertising.

In June, the Consumers Education Foundation randomly checked 16 small packages of rice and 8 loose packages of rice sold in the markets of Taipei and New Taipei City, and found that the Hualien-Taitung rice, which is loved by many Taiwanese, may come from the western region. For example, the packaging labels of "Zhongxing Rice - Hualien-Taitung Taijing No. 9 Rice" and "Sanhao Rice - Hualien Taijing Sushi Rice" show Taiwan, but the rice milling sites are all in Changhua County. The operators did not indicate where in Taiwan the purchased rice came from, which could easily mislead consumers about the source of the rice.

In addition, the Consumer Foundation conducted tests on rice for "inclusions", "heat-damaged grains", "harmed grains", "abnormal grains", "broken grains", "white powdery grains", "freshness" and "heavy metals (cadmium and lead)". The results showed that "7-SELECT Domestic Selected Rice" did not meet the marked third-grade rice standard in the "heat-damaged grains" item. The color of the rice grains turned yellow or dark yellow due to heat damage by microorganisms, which violated Article 14 of the "Food Management Law" which stipulates that "labels, publicity or advertisements on packaging or containers shall not be false, exaggerated or misleading."

Regarding the moisture content test of rice, according to the provisions of the Republic of China National Standard No. 2425 (CNS 2425) "White Rice", the maximum moisture content of any grade of white rice is 14.5%. However, according to the test results of the Consumer Foundation, among the 24 samples, a total of 7 samples had moisture levels exceeding the standard and did not meet the CNS specifications. They are difficult to preserve and easily deteriorate. They are "White Rice - Hualien and Taitung Sushi Rice", "White Rice - Bridge Brand Sushi Rice", "White Rice - Fresh Rice", "Japonica White Rice - Sanhao Rice - Hualien and Taitung Taiwanese Japonica Sushi Rice", "White Rice - 7-SELECT Domestic Selected Rice", "White Rice - Lian Yicheng Grain Store" and "White Rice - Shengyuan Rice Factory".

As for product labels, which are factors that consumers often consider when purchasing rice besides price, the Consumers' Foundation found that 7 out of 13 samples labeled second-grade rice did not meet the standards, and 1 out of 2 samples labeled third-grade rice did not meet the standards. The proportion of non-compliance with labels is quite high. In response, the Consumer Foundation called on the competent authorities to implement strict inspections and penalties, and require businesses to implement rice grading and packaging labels.