GreenSpace: Rice can contain traces of arsenic
Rice cereal. Rice cakes. Rice milk. What's not to like? Arsenic, apparently. Officials have long known that rice - and, therefore, rice products - contains traces of arsenic.
Rice cereal.
Rice cakes.
Rice milk.
What's not to like?
Arsenic, apparently.
Officials have long known that rice - and, therefore, rice products - contains traces of arsenic.
Arsenic is a naturally occurring substance in soils, put there by the weathering of arsenic-containing minerals. It also has been used in agricultural formulations.
The problem is that, compared with other plants, rice is a champ at absorbing arsenic.
Rice contains both inorganic arsenic, which is a carcinogen, and organic arsenic, which is deemed "less toxic but still of concern," according to Consumer Reports, which this month published a new analysis on rice and arsenic. (The "organic" designation has to do with chemistry, not whether the rice is organically grown.)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says people are most likely to be exposed to arsenic through drinking water "and, to a lesser extent, through various foods."
Large doses can cause a range of symptoms from nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea to dehydration and shock, the CDC said.
The Consumer Reports analysis found that rice cereal and rice pasta can have much more inorganic material than a similar 2012 study showed.
The CR scientists concluded that one serving of either could put a child over the maximum amount that CR recommends in a week.
They found that one serving of rice cakes also could put a child over the limit, and that rice drinks are likewise high in arsenic.
But they also concluded that adults can eat more rice than the group had previously recommended - 4.5 servings a week - of basmati rice from California, India, or Pakistan, or sushi rice from the U.S.
CR found these rices have, on average, half the amount of inorganic arsenic of most other types of rice.
Brown rice has an average of 80 percent more inorganic arsenic than white. That's because the chemical is concentrated in the kernel's outer layers, which are removed to make white rice.
Huh. Kind of puts a dent in the notion that brown rice is more healthful, although CR does say brown rice has more nutrients in addition to more arsenic.
In my household, we've been trying to incorporate more brown rice in our diet because it has more fiber than white rice. But maybe it's time to go back to basmati, which I also like, especially with my mercury-containing seafood. Egad.
CR says people can lower the arsenic in the rice they eat by rinsing the raw rice, then cooking it at a ratio of six cups of water to one cup of rice and then discarding the leftover water.
Check out the CR article and its recommendations at http://bit.ly/1yPvKYb.
The USA Rice Federation has responded with vigor and outrage, saying Consumer Reports "seems to be making some leaps and wild guesses to arrive at their recommendations."
It said the benefits of eating rice far outweighed the risks.
Federation president and CEO Betsy Ward said that U.S.-grown rice has been extensively tested by the industry, universities, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and that arsenic levels are safe.
The federation also said tests show the levels of inorganic arsenic are lowest in U.S.-grown rice, regardless of what state it came from.
"We've seen levels vary from plot to plot and field to field, so making blanket statements about one state versus another is totally unscientific," said USA Rice spokesman Michael Klein.
The FDA, meanwhile, is continuing its own tests on rice. The agency has been monitoring arsenic levels in rice for more than 20 years, and has seen no increases.
Its latest results - from September 2013 - showed that levels were "too low to cause immediate or short-term adverse health effects." The FDA sets no official limits. However, work continues on long-term risk.
The agency has issued the following advice for consumers:
Eat a well-balanced diet. This will "minimize the health effects that could come from eating an excess of any one food."
Vary your grains. "Like rice, other grains - such as wheat, barley, and oats - are nutritious."
Consider alternatives for an infant's first solid food. Many infants are fed rice cereal as their first solid food. The agency cited the American Academy of Pediatrics position that there is no medical evidence that rice has advantages over other grains.
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