The news surfaced two days earlier when The Straits Times newspaper in Singapore reported that plastic rice, "made from potatoes, sweet potatoes, with synthetic resin moulded into the shape of real rice" has been delivered to several Asian countries, including India, Indonesia and Viet Nam.

The plastic rice was reported to have come from China.

The Food Safety Department under the Ministry of Health said that it has been co-operating with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to verify the news. Anything unusual about rice sold in Vietnamese markets would be made public as soon as it was discovered, officials said.

The Department also asked residents to report to police or local authorities if they find suspicious looking rice.

Meanwhile, Malaysian and Singaporean authorities have been investigating the rumour, yet there has been no report confirming the existence of such plastic rice in those markets.

In 2011 and 2012, rumours about fake rice caused an uproar in Viet Nam, even though authorities confirmed that such rumours had been untrue. 

VNS