Its minister, Armizan Mohd Ali, said enforcement officers inspected 308 premises as part of the operation, Bernama reported.

He said officers collected 99 rice deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) samples, with 17 sent to the Biotechnology and Nanotechnology Research Centre at the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi) for analysis.

“If local rice DNA is detected in the samples, further legal action will be taken against those involved,” he said after attending the 2025 Consumer NGOs Engagement Day in Putrajaya today.

Op Campur enforcement falls under the Trade Descriptions Act 2011 (Act 730), which allows legal action against any party found to have misrepresented the content, type or name of a product under Section 5 of the Act.

Individuals convicted under the Act face a fine of up to RM100,000, imprisonment of up to three years, or both, while companies found guilty may be fined up to RM250,000.

Armizan said mixing imported and local rice constitutes an offence under false trade descriptions.

“If anyone sells rice labelled as imported rice but it contains local rice, it is considered a false trade description,” he said.

A Mardi study, released on Feb 26, found that between 45% and 50% of bags labelled as imported white rice were mixed with local grains. Local rice is cheaper, mainly due to subsidies.