Be careful when buying clean rice.

For many consumers, in addition to meat, fish, and vegetables needing to be safe and hygienic, rice must also be... clean rice. Recognizing this demand, the market is seeing an increasing number of new rice varieties labeled as... clean. However, many of these are simply copycat products, so consumers need to be extremely cautious when buying.

Most recently, the introduction of the new Jasmine Global GAP rice product has enriched the market for clean rice. Consumers buying rice at supermarkets such as Tax Department Store, Centre Mall Pham Hung, Satra Mart, etc., now have more choices. However, a representative from the producer, SATRA One-Member Limited Company ( thuộc Saigon Trading Corporation), stated that the process of producing clean rice is not simple. Specifically, it requires ordering production on large-scale model fields and processing and packaging at the factory according to Global GAP standards. The selling price is 19,000 VND/kg, which is 500-4,000 VND/kg higher than regular rice.

At supermarkets, many types of rice labeled as "clean" are sold at even higher prices. For example, Tu Quy rice and Ngoc Dong rice cost around 25,000 VND/kg. Rice brands that meet Viet Gap standards, such as Tho Viet sticky rice, Lang Ta rice, Xuan Hong rice, and Nang Hoa rice, sell for 24,000 - 32,000 VND/kg. Even clean rice varieties under the Hoa Sua brand, advertised by producers as being grown organically, can cost from 45,000 to over 60,000 VND/kg.

Meanwhile, rice stalls in markets and small shops are now selling various types of clean rice for only about 17,000 - 18,000 VND/kg, explained as "export-grade clean rice that has been smuggled out for sale without packaging or labels, hence the low price." There are also types of clean rice bearing the aforementioned brands but already opened (usually each bag contains 5 kg) and sold at a price 500 VND/kg cheaper than similar products in supermarkets, explained as being opened for easier retail sales.

However, according to Ms. Ngoc Lan, who previously bought the same type of rice in a whole bag, the rice bought individually, once opened, "lacked the same aroma and sweetness, even though it was cheaper." A long-standing rice shop in District 8, Ho Chi Minh City, asserted that it was simply a "mixture of two different types of rice to create a new type of rice, just a marketing ploy by sellers because consumers increasingly prefer clean rice. Therefore, consumers should only buy clean rice with clear labels and packaging."

According to Thanh Nien - TH