Aerial photo taken on Aug. 20, 2019 shows farmers harvesting hybrid rice seeds at a national hybrid rice seed production base in Zhuxi Town of Cengong County, southwest China's Guizhou Province. The hybrid rice seeds here have entered harvest season. With the total cultivated area reaching more than 2,667 hectares, Cengong County has achieved an annual yield of eight million kilograms rice seeds. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

Nutritionists are raising doubts and concerns about a Chinese company's claim that its new electric cooker can cook rice that even diabetics, who must monitor their carbohydrate consumption, can eat freely.

Dong Mingzhu, president of Gree Electric Appliances of Zhuhai, made the surprising claim about the company's rice cooker at a conference held in Beijing on August 28. "You can eat rice as much as you want without suffering from high blood sugar," Dong said.

Staple foods such as rice are high in carbohydrates, and consuming too much can cause serious health issue for people suffering from diabetes.

Dong seemed acknowledged that she understand that diabetics shouldn't eat a lot of rice. "So we have made this electric rice cooker for them." 

Dong didn't explain how her company's rice cooker is different from other rice cookers and people with concerns about high blood sugar doubted the company president's promise.

An unnamed biochemist told The Paper that "electric cookers cannot destroy glucose within rice, but if it could there wouldn't be much left of the rice."

"It would be better to eat less rice than to overeat rice cooked by this cooker," the expert said.

The Paper