Arsenic Found in Rice at High Levels
WebMD News Archive
Sept. 19, 2012 -- Arsenic is found in a wide variety of rice and rice products, sometimes at levels that are higher than safe limits set for drinking water, new tests confirm.
Separate test results were released on Wednesday by Consumer Reports, the FDA, and by Lisa Madigan, the attorney general for the state of Illinois. Madigan has been testing rice products as part of a state investigation into arsenic in food.
Based on its tests of 60 products, Consumer Reports says kids and adults should watch how much rice they eat from various sources (like rice milk and rice cereal) to lower their exposure to arsenic, which has been linked to cancer, heart disease, and poor brain function in young children.
“First and foremost, I want to warn parents that every rice cereal product we tested contained arsenic. These results are shocking because rice cereal is often a baby’s first solid food,” Madigan says. “Parents and caregivers should moderate the amount of rice products they feed their children.”
The FDA’s tests of 200 different rice products show levels of harmful inorganic arsenic that are in line with tests performed by Consumer Reports. The magazine analyzed rice products including infant cereals, regular boxed cereals, rice cakes, rice milk, and brown and white rice. Both organic and nonorganic rice products were found to have arsenic.
Eating one serving of rice at the highest levels found in the studies could expose a person to more arsenic than the EPA allows in drinking water.
Based on their findings, Consumer Reports and Madigan have called on the FDA to set limits on arsenic in rice and rice products.
The agency says the issue needs more study. They are continuing to check rice products, with a goal of testing 1,200 by the end of this year. For the time being, regulators say there’s not enough evidence to tell people to limit rice in their diets.
“Our advice right now is that consumers should continue to eat a balanced diet that includes a wide variety of grains -- not only for good nutrition but also to minimize any potential consequences from consuming any one particular food,” says FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, MD.