A statement from the company said, "KRBL Limited, makers of India Gate Classic Rice would like to state on record that the video in question is fake and defamatory. There is no scientific evidence presented to substantiate the alleged claim that the rice is made of plastic. It is also not clear whether the rice contents are from the India Gate Pack as neither the pack is opened nor the contents are poured. It is simply kept alongside the cooked rice. KRBL Ltd. has got an injunction order from the court against Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp and the individual for promoting the defamatory video".
The 2 minute-long video, according to Mandeep Singh, suggests that the rice he used is adulterated and made with plastic.
"If you see my video, you will be shocked to see the way rice quickly forms into hard balls. It doesn't stick to your hand or fall apart, rather bounces off like a ping-pong ball," he claimed over the phone.
Son of a farmer, Mandeep spent his childhood amid the lush green fields of Punjab and claims to have an understanding of what actual raw grains look like.
People all across the world have been trying out this technique to figure out if their everyday rice variety has traces of artificial content in it. But how legit is this way of determining the authenticity of the rice that sits in our kitchen jars? Well, it isn't, according to an expert lab."Rumours of plastic rice have been doing the rounds lately. There have been many tests performed on rice samples which are presumed to be 'plastic' in nature but no evidence has been received so far to prove the fact... it is hard to comment on the authenticity of the rice depicted in such videos until the same batch is sent for thorough lab tests," noted Mr. Ashwin Bhadri, CEO, Equinox Labs, an FSSAI certified lab based in Mumbai.
Top image via iStock