On September 19, 2012, the FDA released the first analytical results of nearly 200 samples of rice and rice products collected since in the U.S. marketplace.
Background:
Inorganic arsenic is classified as cancerogen and human exposure through dinking water and the food should be avoided or at least minimized. The Food and Drug Administration says that long-term exposure to high
levels of arsenic is associated with higher rates of skin cancer,
bladder cancer and lung cancer, as well as heart disease. Long-term exposure to low doses of arsenic may change the way cells
communicate, and reduce their ability to function, according to
researchers at Dartmouth University. Inorganic arsenic is also suspected to play play a role in the development of diabetes, vascular disease and lung disease.
Rice: An important food source
sometines contaminated by arsenic
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Up to now no federal limit has been set for the amount of arsenic in
foods and also such limit has not been established in Europe. Consumer Reports expressed concerns last year regarding arsenic levels in juice and rice-based baby foods. While most crops don’t readily take up much arsenic from the ground,
rice is different because it takes up arsenic from soil and water of the paddy fields more
readily than other grains.
FDA study of rice:
The preliminary analysis includes information about arsenic
speciation in various brands of rice, Basmati rice, brown rice, rice cereals
(puffed, non-puffed, hot cereal and infant cereals), rice cakes and
rice milk. The results show the average levels of inorganic arsenic in the products
vary from 27 to 247 ppb (1.2 to 11.1 micrograms per serving).
The FDA says it does not have enough information yet to make any
recommendations on whether consumers should change their diets to curb rice consumption. For now, the agency recommends people vary their diet. FDA announced that it is collecting and analyzing more than 1,000 additional rice and
rice product samples. Once FDA has completed its analysis of rice products, the
agency will analyze these results and determine whether to issue
additional recommendations., and will post additional data as results become
available.
Source: FDA
Related Information
U.S. FDA: Arsenic in Food U.S. FDA: Arsenic in Rice and Rice Products Risk Assessment U.S. FDA: Full Analytical Results from Rice/Rice Product Sampling - September 2012
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Arsenic Contents in Spanish Infant Rice, Pureed Infant Foods, and Rice, J. Food Sci., 71/1 (2012) T15-T19.
doi: 10.1111/j.1750-3841.2011.02502.x Johann M.R. Antoine, Leslie A. Hoo Fung, Charles N. Grant, Haile T. Dennis, Gerald C. Lalor,
Dietary intake of minerals and trace elements in rice on the Jamaican market, J. Food Composition Anal., 26 (2012) 111–121.
doi:10.1016/j.jfca.2012.01.003 Mireia Fontcuberta, Josep Calderon, Joan R. Villalbí, Francesc Centrich, Samuel Portaña, Albert Espelt, Julia Duran, Manel Nebot,
Total and Inorganic Arsenic in Marketed Food and Associated Health Risks for the Catalan (Spain) Population, J. Agric. Food Chem. 2011, 59, 10013–10022.
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Inorganic arsenic and trace elements in Ghanaian grain staples, Environ. Poll., 159 (2011) 2435-2442.
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Inorganic arsenic in Chinese food and its cancer risk, Environ. Inter.. 37 (2011) 1219–1225.
doi:10.1016/j.envint.2011.05.007 Yangrong Fu, Mulong Chen, Xiangyang Bi, Yusheng He, Limin Ren, Wu Xiang, Shengying Qiao, Sen Yan, Zhonggen Li, Zhendong Ma,
Occurrence of arsenic in brown rice and its relationship to soil properties from Hainan Island, China, Environ. Poll., 159 (2011) 1757-1762.
doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2011.04.018 Feng Liang, Yulan Li, Guilin Zhang, Mingguang Tan, Jun Lin, Wei Liu, Yan Li, Wenwei Lu,
Total and speciated arsenic levels in rice from China, Food Addit. Contam. Part A, 27/6 (2010) 810-816.
DOI: 10.1080/19440041003636661 D.T. Heitkemper, K.M. Kubachka, P.R. Halpin, M.N. Allen, N.V. Shockey,
Survey of total arsenic and arsenic speciation in US-produced rice as a reference point for evaluating change and future trends, Food Addit. Contam. Part B, 2/2 (2009) 112-120.
doi: 10.1080/02652030903148298 Andrew A. Meharg, Paul N. Williams, Eureka Adomako, Youssef Y. Lawgali, Claire Deacon, Antia Villada, Robert C. J. Cambell, Guoxin Sun, Yong-Guan Zhu,
Joerg Feldmann, Andrea Raab, Fang-Jie Zhao, Rafiqul Islam, Shahid Hossain, and Junta Yanai,
Geographical Variation in Total and Inorganic Arsenic Content of Polished (White) Rice, Environ. Sci. Technol., 2009, 43 (5), 1612-1617.
DOI: 10.1021/es802612a Eureka E. Adomako, A.R.M. Solaiman, Paul N. Williams, Claire Deacon,
G.K.M.M. Rahman, Andrew A. Meharg,
Enhanced transfer of arsenic to grain for Bangladesh grown rice compared to US and EU, Environ. Int., 35 (2009) 476–479.
doi:10.1016/j.envint.2008.07.010 Guo-Xin Sun, Paul N. Williams, Yong-Guan Zhu, Claire Deacon, Anne-Marie Carey, Andrea Raab,
Joerg Feldmann, Andrew A. Meharg,
Survey of arsenic and its speciation in rice products such as breakfast cereals, rice crackers and Japanese rice condiments, Environ. Int., 35 (2009) 473–475.
doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2008.07.020 Guo-Xin Sun, Paul N. Williams, Anne-Marie Carey, Yong-Guan Zhu, Claire Deacon, Andrea Raab,
Joerg Feldmann, Rafiqul M. Islam, Andrew A. Meharg,
Inorganic Arsenic in Rice Bran and Its Products Are an Order of Magnitude Higher than in Bulk Grain, Environ. Sci. Technol. 2008, 42, 7542–7546.
doi: 10.1021/es801238p Yamily J. Zavala, Russell Gerads, Hakan Gürleyük, John M. Duxbury,
Arsenic in Rice: II. Arsenic Speciation in USA Grain and Implications for Human Health, Environ. Sci. Technol. 2008, 42, 3861–3866.
doi: 10.1021/es702748q Andrew A. Meharg, Guoxin Sun, Paul N. Williams, Eureka Adomako, Claire Deacon, Yong-Guan Zhu, Joerg Feldmann, Andrea Raab,
Inorganic arsenic levels in baby rice are of concern, Environ. Poll., 152 (2008) 746-749.
doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2008.01.043
Related EVISA Resources Link Database: Human exposure to arsenic from the diet Link Database: Analytical Methods for Arsenic Speciation Analysis Link Database: Toxicity of inorganic Arsenic Link Page: All about food science Brief Summary: LC-ICP-MS: The most often used hyphenated system for speciation analysis Material Database: Materials for Arsenic speciation analysis
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last time modified: January 20, 2025
