No federal limit exists for arsenic in most foods, including rice. Organic rice baby cereal, rice breakfast cereals, brown rice, and white rice all contain arsenic, many in worrisome levels.
Consuming more than a half-cup of cooked rice per day can result in an increase in urinary arsenic levels, skin, bladder and lung cancers, as well as heart disease.
In response to the Consumer Report’s warning about the presence of arsenic in rice, the USA Rice Federation and the FDA are now saying that there is no reason to worry – at least not short term – and make sure you eat some other food.
“To help consumers understand arsenic levels in rice, on September 6, 2013, 2013, FDA released the results of approximately 1,100 samples of rice and rice products examined for the presence of arsenic. The announcement followed the release in September 2012 of a preliminary set of analytical results of nearly 200 samples of rice products tested for arsenic. Taken together, these approximately 1,300 samples comprise the largest data set available on arsenic in rice and rice products and provide a strong foundation for FDA’s work going forward. FDA is conducting a risk assessment as the next step in a process to help manage possible risks associated with the consumption of rice and rice products.”
Immediate or short-term effects of arsenic in rice:
Based on the September 2013 study which was conducted by
rice producers and the FDA, the FDA is saying that the arsenic in rice is too
low to cause any immediate or short-term
health effects. The key word here is short-term.
“Rice is an important staple for many people, and the arsenic levels that FDA found in the samples it evaluated were too low to cause any immediate or short-term adverse health effects. All consumers, including pregnant women, infants and children, are encouraged to eat a well-balanced diet for good nutrition and to minimize potential adverse consequences from consuming an excess of any one food.”
While the FDA is trying to say that arsenic in rice has no “immediate
or short-term health effects,” (but just don’t eat too much rice), it is
admitting that it has no data yet in regard to the long-term effects of arsenic
in rice.
“To better understand the long-term risks, the FDA is conducting a risk assessment as the next step in its efforts to manage the risks associated with the consumption of rice and rice products.”
Long-term effects of arsenic in rice:
Why is the FDA not using the research found by scientists exposed
in the Consumer Reports article? One has to recall that the FDA worked with the
USA Rice Federation on the Sept. 6, 2013, published article.
“We already know that high concentrations of arsenic in drinking water result in the highest known toxic substance disease risks from any environmental exposure,” says Allan Smith, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of epidemiology at the University of California, Berkeley. “So we should not be arguing to wait for years until we have results of epidemiologic studies at lower arsenic intake, such as from rice consumption, to take action.” His studies of arsenic in public water in Chile and Argentina helped show that it causes lung and bladder cancer and other diseases.”
So where does the arsenic in rice in the United States come from?
“The U.S. is the world’s leading user of arsenic, and since 1910 about 1.6 million tons have been used for agricultural and industrial purposes, about half of it only since the mid-1960s. Residues from the decades of use of lead-arsenate insecticides linger in agricultural soil today, even though their use was banned in the 1980s. Other arsenical ingredients in animal feed to prevent disease and promote growth are still permitted. Moreover, fertilizer made from poultry waste can contaminate crops with inorganic arsenic.”
According to the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the U.S. is the world’s leading user of arsenic, and since 1910 about 1.6 million tons have been used for agricultural and industrial purposes, about half of it only since the mid-1960s.
Residues from the decades
of use of lead-arsenate insecticides linger in agricultural soil today, even
though their use was banned in the 1980s. Other arsenical ingredients in animal
feed to prevent disease and promote growth are still permitted. Moreover,
fertilizer made from poultry waste can contaminate crops with inorganic
arsenic.
Rice likes a lot of water and it absorbs arsenic from water
or soil more effectively than most other plants.
“In the U.S. as of 2010, about 15 percent of rice acreage was in California, 49 percent in Arkansas, and the remainder in Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas. That south-central region of the country has a long history of producing cotton, a crop that was heavily treated with arsenical pesticides for decades in part to combat the boll weevil beetle.”
Here are a few more important insights provided by research:
- White rice grown in Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and Texas, which account for 76 percent of domestic rice, generally had higher levels of total arsenic and inorganic arsenic in our tests than rice samples from elsewhere.
- Within any single brand of rice we tested, the average total and inorganic arsenic levels were always higher for brown rice than for white.
So what should people
know about arsenic in rice?
According to Consumer Reports, “people who ate rice had
arsenic levels that were 44 percent greater than those who had not, according
to our analysis of federal health data. And certain ethnic groups were more
highly affected, including Mexicans, other Hispanics, and a broad category that
includes Asians.”
Since arsenic is found not only in rice but other fruits and
vegetables that are grown in a similar environment, Consumer Reports is asking the
Food and Drug Administration to set limits for arsenic in rice products and
fruit juices as a starting point.
Unfortunately, with the FDA working in such a close
relationship with USA Rice Federation and other food producers, it is highly
unlikely that the interests of the people will come before the interests of
money.
