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 FDA has collected and tested rice for total arsenic for about 20 years. On September 19, 2012, the FDA released the
first analytical results of nearly 200 samples of rice and rice products tested for both total and different arsenic species including inorganic arsenic. 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 or not to issue
additional recommendations., and will post additional data as results become
available.
Source: FDA
Related Information
U.S. FDA: Arsenic U.S. FDA: Arsenic in Rice U.S. FDA: Questions & Answers: FDA’s Analysis of Arsenic in Rice and Rice Products U.S. FDA: Full Analytical Results from Rice/Rice Product Sampling - September 2012
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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: November 11, 2013
