Fortified rice: Surveyors find that consumers fear traces of 'plastic rice'

Some beneficiaries complain of abdominal discomfort, gastritis, diarrhoea and nausea after eating fortified rice

This report has been updated to include a clarification given by the Union government. Even as the Centre plans to distribute iron-fortified rice across the Public Distribution System (PDS) by March 2024, a fact-finding team of civil society activists has found there is a perception on the ground, and fear, that ‘plastic-rice’ has been mixed with normal rice in the name of fortification. In some cases, beneficiaries have also complained of abdominal discomfort, gastritis, diarrhoea and nausea after eating fortified rice.

The fact-finding team also found serious lacunas and flaws in the manner in which the programme was being implemented in pilot districts that included distribution of fortified rice without proper labelling and warning about its adverse impact on people with sickle-cell anaemia and Thalassemia.

The fact-finding team included Dr Vandana Prasad, a public health expert also associated with the Right to Food campaign; Kavitha Kuruganti, farmers’ rights activist with ASHA-Kisan Swaraj; Balram and James Herenz of Right to Food Campaign, Jharkhand; Rohin Kumar of Greenpeace India; Soumik Banerjee of ASHA-Kisan Swaraj; and Raj Shekhar Singh of Right to Food Campaign National Secretariat.

The team visited five villages in Khunti and East Singhbhum districts between 8 and 10 May, 2022, and met with PDS beneficiaries, dealers, CHC doctors, ASHA and Anganwadi workers, cooks in Anganwadis and schools, officials and patients in district-level hospitals, besides one rice mill owner and some others.

“Fortified rice is not a proven approach to tackle anaemia effectively, according to published papers and reviews. It is surprising that the Government of India, in a hasty blanket approach, has already scaled up distribution of fortified rice to 257 districts across India, even though the so-called ‘pilots’ have not completed three years, nor have they been evaluated. Even the findings have not been put out in the public domain,” an official statement by the team members said.

It said official data on the government portal shows fortified rice being distributed in two blocks of Jharkhand's East Singhbhum (the designated Pilot district in the state) only from October 2021.

“However, without any data being shared on the portal about the distribution in other districts, fortified rice has already been taken to several districts. What is the meaning or purpose of the Pilot then”, the team asked in its statement.

The team also found that a vast majority of women were picking out and throwing away the Fortified Rice Kernels (FRK) added to rice. These women includedthose who cooking for Anganwadi and School meals.

“FRKs are clearly identifiable from the real rice kernels. They are being picked out by hand, and later, during washing of the rice before cooking (FRK is floating up),” the team observed.

They also found that no information was given to, or prior consent obtained from, communities which had been recipients of this fortified rice.

Neither PDS dealers nor village-level frontline workers of various departments were informed beforehand about the fortified rice.

“It appears as if the Government of India wanted to implement this programme quietly, if not clandestinely, and that the government was under the misapprehension that FRK blended with regular rice will go unnoticed and get consumed by citizens without any questions (being asked),” the report said.

The team also found that FSSAI and the government's own regulations on packaging and labelling of fortified food and strict warning as to who should not consume them were being clearly violated on the ground.

According to the Centre’s target, 37.5 million tonnes of fortified rice is planned to be distributed through the Targeted Public Distribution Scheme (TPDS) and Other Welfare Schemes (OWS) by March 2024. This, according to the 2020-21 foodgrains distribution plan, is equal to the entire quantum of rice allocated by the government.

According to a reply given in Parliament a few weeks ago, the Centre plans to distribute 3.5 million tonnes of fortified rice in ICDS and Pm-POSHAN schemes in the 2021-22 financial year. This will be scaled up to 17.5 million tonnes by March 2023 to include 291 aspirational districts alongside the ICDS and PM-POSHAN schemes.

Thereafter, by March 2024, all TPDS and OWS will be covered by fortified rice in the country.

Fortification of rice with essential nutrients has been started on a pilot basis for three years from 2019-20 with a total outlay of Rs 174.64 crore. The pilot focuses on 15 districts across 15 states (preferably one district per state). 

Govt clarifies on concerns over fortified rice
 
Responding to this report, the Union government has given a clarification. Edited excerpts:
 
There are multiple government programmes to address malnutrition, anaemia and micronutrient deficiencies. One such initiative is introduction of voluntary/mandatory fortified staple foods, such as milk, oil, salt, wheat flour and rice. Fortification of staple foods, when appropriately implemented, can be an efficient, simple and relatively inexpensive strategy for supplying the required micronutrients/vitamins and minerals to large segments of the Indian population.
 
According to the National Family Health Survey, 2019-20, India has a high prevalence of anaemia. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared anaemia among women and children a “severe” public health problem, demanding immediate attention.
 
Fortification is the process of increasing the content of essential micronutrients in food so as to improve its nutritional quality and provide a public health benefit with minimal risk to health. Food fortification is considered one of the top three priorities for developing countries, according to the Copenhagen Consensus Statement, 2008.
 
Fortified foods are not new to India, where consumption of iodised salt, also a type of fortified food, has led to a reduction of iodine deficiency disorders and diseases like goitre. Rice fortification is also a viable preventive and complementary intervention to solve the problem of anaemia in a short span. 
 
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an announcement on August 15, 2021, to mandate rice fortification in all social safety net schemes by 2024. Dietary diversification and higher reliance on fruits and vegetables is another source of micro-nutrients but not always affordable to a large section of the population.
 
Many states are effectively implementing fortified rice distribution through the public distribution system since the launch of the centrally sponsored pilot scheme, without any major challenge. However, due to lack of awareness, fortified rice and its benefits are not always understood.
 
In the absence of evidence, claims regarding adverse effects of fortified rice consumption are premature and speculative.