The health ministry has rubbished an allegation that 'fake rice' is being produced at a rice mill in Kedah, describing it as unsubstantiated claim.

This followed the ministry's monitoring and enforcement activities on food safety, said director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

"The public need not worry over the issue (fake rice) as we constantly take enforcement measures to ensure foodstuffs in the market are safe," he said in a statement here today.

Nevertheless, he said, if there were still doubts, consumers could lodge complaint via the nearest health office or Food Safety and Quality Division website http://fsq.moh.gov.my or www.facebook.com/bkkmhg.

On May 21, Dr Noor Hisham, said the ministry became aware of the allegation circulating in the social media that 'fake rice' was being produced in China.

Meanwhile, he said according to Padiberas Nasional Berhad (BERNAS), the majority of rice imports came from Vietnam, Thailand and Pakistan.

He added the importation of rice from China was too small, namely less than 0.01 per cent as compared to about 800,000 tonnes of total imports.

"It is based on demand by Japanese and Korean restaurants in the country."