Heard of plastic rice? Shopkeepers in Uttarakhand's Haldwani district are openly selling plastic rice in markets. And it is being consumed by unaware buyers.

When the Pal family bought rice from a shop, they found a variation in the taste.

The family would have ignored it until a video of children playing with a ball made up of plastic rice went viral.

A team has now been constituted and along with officials of food security department and municipal corporation raids are being conducted. "Strict action will be taken," City Magistrate KK Mishra said.

This comes months after a case of artificial eggs in Kolkata came to light after complainant Anita Kumar discovered that the eggs were artificial when she cracked open a few of them.

Kolkata has been hit by a mass production of artificial eggs, allegedly made of plastic, which has led to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to order an investigation into it.