Is 40 yuan a jin of rice really worth it?

"Ecological rice","organic rice","selenium-rich rice","seafood rice","bamboo nutritious rice","medical stone rice"... At an agricultural products fair held in Guangdong a few days ago, the reporter saw in the rice exhibition area that the rice "concept" exhibited was varied and varied.

A wide variety of "concept rice", there is a common point, is affixed with a loud label, claiming to have "health care" function, and then the price rises, the price is much more expensive than ordinary rice. Like a box of six catties of "selenium-rich rice", the price is 198 yuan, after conversion up to 33 yuan per catty.

A number of experts accept Yangcheng Evening News reporter interview pointed out that "concept rice" is mostly marketing gimmick, just oral "contains" trace elements and does not have much reference value, and trace elements to different groups of people whether have health care function is not good to say,"do not spend money."

"Concept rice" is varied

A few days ago, an agricultural products fair was held in Guangdong, in which rice was the main exhibit. There is a booth, the outermost side of a beautifully made, about an adult high easy to pull up treasure, from time to time visitors stop to read. Reporters were also attracted to it, it is mainly to promote a kind of "selenium-rich rice."

The leaflet said: "selenium plays a number of functions in the human body, including: anti-oxidation, anti-aging; detoxification, detoxification, anti-pollution; protection of liver and hematopoietic cells, prevention of cell aging, reduction of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases; prevention of cancer, improvement of immunity, etc." And the "selenium-rich rice" they grow is natural and "healthy and nutritious."

In another booth, the reporter saw a kind of "bamboo nutrition rice", claiming that "extracted from mountains, organic, fresh bamboo leaves in a large number of active functional factors, and organic rice active infiltration compound","rich in bamboo leaf polysaccharide, bamboo leaf flavonoids, bamboo leaf polypeptide and other nearly 60 active functional factors", is "excellent dietary products".

There is also a kind of "seafood rice", said "low starch, high protein, rich in various amino acids, vitamins and trace elements required by the human body... is an ideal choice for diabetics, the elderly, pregnant women and infants". As for why it is called "seafood rice", it is because it is applied with "seafood fertilizer", that is, fertilizer developed from natural fish and shrimp seafood.

In addition to these, the reporter also saw a variety of different "concepts" of rice at the scene, such as "ecological rice","organic rice","natural green rice","Tai Chi health rice","volcanic slate rice" and so on, a wide variety, a variety. According to the organizers, the day of the exhibition of rice "types" more than 100. Most of them have the concept of "health care" and "nutrition".

Double the value of "health care"

The reporter entered "health rice" on the shopping website, and the products that jumped out were more varied. The most common ones were "health" rice under the banner of various nutrients, including "high-calcium and selenium-enriched rice","medical stone rice","apple rice","low-protein rice","bamboo nutrition rice", etc., emphasizing that its nutritional elements were several times higher than ordinary rice.

Although there are many kinds of "health rice", they have one thing in common: the price is much more expensive than ordinary rice! In front of the above-mentioned "selenium-rich rice" booth, when the reporter asked about the price, the other party said,"a pack of 1.5 kg, two packs together in the gift box, a total of 198 yuan." After the reporter converted, he found that the rice was as high as 33 yuan per catty.

Hearing this price, the reporter's expression was a little surprised, the staff smiled and said: "This unit price is really high." The reporter asked,"Is this good to sell?" The other said,"Generally. Usually, few people buy them. Only a little more people buy them during the Spring Festival. They are mainly used as gifts. There are relatively few for their own use. Our planting area and yield are not high either."

A few years ago, there was a kind of "health rice" claiming to contain a substance called CEB, which is a cell nutrient beneficial to human body function. When it was listed, 4 kilograms sold for a high price of 199 yuan, which was called "sky-high price" by public opinion. Now there is no higher, only higher. The above-mentioned "seafood rice", the price per catty is even higher, reaching nearly 40 yuan.

Expert: "Concept rice" is mostly marketing gimmick

Expert analysis pointed out that "concept rice" is nothing more than three kinds: one is to increase or reduce the content of certain nutrients, such as selenium-rich rice, high-calcium rice, low-protein rice belongs to this category; the second is to "graft" the nutritional value of other foods, such as bamboo nutritious rice, medical stone rice, etc.; third, to cater to consumer taste, visual preferences, the color or taste of rice transformation, such as apple rice, banana rice, etc.

Dr. Yun Wuxin of Purdue University of the United States said in an interview with Yangcheng Evening News that "concept rice" should be analyzed in detail, such as bamboo nutritious rice and medical stone rice is a marketing gimmick,"selenium-rich" rice has national standards, which can help supplement selenium,"which is meaningful for selenium deficiency areas, but has no meaning for selenium deficiency."

Zhu Yi, an associate professor at the School of Food and Nutrition Engineering at China Agricultural University, believes that the "selenium-rich rice" sold on the market is not necessarily good. " Let's not talk about whether its effects are real or not. It's not good to supplement nutrients. Too much intake of certain elements may not be good for the body." Studies have also shown that in areas with high selenium levels, livestock can be poisoned by excessive selenium intake, resulting in stunting, hair loss, and severe death. In addition, Zhu Yi also said, Nutritional rice is mostly marketing gimmick, Don't spend money wrongly, Buy rice to buy their favorite taste is good.

Jiang Zhuoqin, a professor at the School of Public Health of Sun Yat-sen University, stressed that "concept rice" cannot be used as its own advertisement for health care as long as it is not applied for as a health food, but can only be sold as ordinary rice. "Whether these rice have health care functions depends on some indicators such as their element content, and only the verbal 'contains' has no reference value." It's hard to say what kind of people have health care functions, but the most important thing is to go through approval."