Media outlets should verify any allegations about contamination of packed rice before publishing them to avoid undermining the credibility of Thailand's rice supply, says Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
Ms Yingluck's plea on Monday followed speculation, mostly online, that packed rice had been contaminated with chemicals used to kill bugs.
Photos like these, bolstered by both rumours and reports by online media such as Facebook, have quickly caused a drop in confidence with the quality of Thai rice. (File photo)
The government is concerned such unconfirmed reports would cause public panic and a lack of trust in the government's ability to ensure food safety, she said.
She insisted not all Thai rice was exposed to contamination.
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"Rice farming is the country's core business and Thai grains have enjoyed a good reputation. A problem may occur sometimes but it doesn't mean the entire industry is affected," she said.
"Please be fair. Sometimes the problem is a one-time mistake such as a broken package. Don't assume it is happening to the entire industry."
Ms Yingluck said action will be taken against people who spread unverified reports. She noted some packed rice producers have already taken legal action to protect their reputation.
The prime minister's deputy secretary-general, Thawat Boonfueng, said Monday the government had ordered the Rice Department to sample the state's rice stockpile for testing.
He said the prime minister was concerned about the alleged contamination of the government's rice stocks.
Meanwhile, Democrat MP for Phitsanulok Warong Dechgitvigrom called on the government to face up to the allegation that the state's rice stocks were not all clean.
Mr Warong claimed some unscrupulous people had slipped bad grains into the government rice stocks.
He originally planned to show how to hide bad grains in rice stocks at Government House Monday but postponed it to tomorrow when the government spokesman team comes back from the mobile cabinet meeting in the Northeast.
Mr Warong said the practice is taking place and it is hurting the government's efforts to release its massive rice stockpile.
"The government should 'cut open' the warehouses and take out the grains for testing," he said.
Former finance minister Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala urged the government on Monday to amend regulations to prevent irregularities in government-to-government (G-to-G) rice deals.
In a post on his Facebook page, Mr Thirachai said that based on anti-graft agency findings, the G-to-G rice deals had been exploited to allow some local traders to buy cheap rice without having to take part in rice auctions.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission sub-committee looking into the G-to-G rice purchases suspects irregularities in the scheme after it found some 1,460 cashier's cheques had been issued for payments, some of them for as little as 80,000 baht.
Mr Thirachai said in a G-to-G transaction, the government representatives will visit foreign countries and persuade them to buy Thai rice.
When deals are closed, shipments are delivered and payments made, usually involving a sum of several hundred million baht.
"[In this case] it looks to me as if some people who claim to represent foreign governments are here outside the warehouses to buy the rice," Mr Thirachai said.
"I am asking Deputy Commerce Minister Yanyong Phuangrach to amend the regulations to not allow rice purchases to take place in front of warehouses, to shut down the possibility for corruption."