Courtney Jorstad  |  September 15, 2014

Category: Consumer News

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Close-Up of Uncooked Organic Sushi RiceA California sushi rice distributor was hit with a class action lawsuit, alleging that it sold rice that may have contained rodent poop as well as other contaminants for years.

According to the class action lawsuit, Farmer’s Rice Cooperative sold contaminated rice to grocery stores throughout the Golden Gate State under brands such as New Variety, New Rose and Imperial Rose.

The rice produced by Farmer’s Rice allegedly contains “flush,” which are unnatural rice ingredients.

“Defendants store and maintain rice in such a fashion as to allow foreign substances, such as insects, rodents and their soiling, bird remains and black mold to to be present in its processed rice,” according to the class action lawsuit.

This while customers, including those who own and operate the grocery stores and restaurants where such rice is sold, thought they were selling Extra Fancy rice, the sushi rice class action lawsuit claims.

On the contrary, sushi rice consumers were receiving a product that was inedible, the lawsuit continues.

“Disposing flush rice by blending it with food-grade rice unfairly allowed defendants to obtain a profit from rice that could not be legally sold for human consumption,” the plaintiffs allege.

The sushi rice class action lawsuit was filed in July by Jinju Sushi Inc. against the Sacramento based company in the Superior Court of California.

They allege that Farmer’s Rice mislabeled and misrepresented the rice it sold to both restaurants and grocery stores.

Farmer’s Rice is responsible for processing and distributing more than 20 percent of the rice crop produced in California.

“Every single person who has been to a sushi restaurant in the last few years probably has had contact with this kind of rice,” said class action lawsuit attorney Brian Kabateck, who is representing the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

“In some conditions it may be as little as 15 percent sushi-grade rice, and 85 percent other grades of rice,” he added.

Farmer’s Rice sent a written response to a local Los Angeles news station, ABC7 Eyewitness News, denying the allegations.

“These claims are absurd,” the company wrote. “We have been in business since 1944 and sell rice to the most quality conscious customers in the world. Our rice is as safe as it gets.”

Rice has faced scrutiny before. In 2013, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a report about the levels of arsenic found in rice. The federal agency found, after testing 1,300 samples, that the arsenic levels were not great enough to lead to any short term or immediate health side effects.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that food containing rat poop or urine could lead to illnesses such as salmonellosis, tularemia, and leptospirosis. These diseases include symptoms such as fever, headaches and joint stiffness. However, such exposure can also lead to organ failure or even death.

The California Department of Public Health said Friday that it is conducting an investigation into the allegations that Farmer’s Rice sold tainted rice.

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