Not in My Food.org : Know what you're eating
Consumer Reports latest investigation has found troubling levels of arsenic in many of the 200 rice products we tested, everything from brown rice to infant cereal – even some popular name-brand cereals. We’ve compiled some tips to help you cut your risk of exposure to this possibly dangerous carcinogen:
T
est your water. If your home is not on a public water system, have your water tested for arsenic and lead. To find a certified lab, contact your local health department or call the federal Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791.
Change the way you cook rice. You may be able to cut your exposure to inorganic arsenic in rice by rinsing raw rice thoroughly before cooking, using a ratio of 6 cups water to 1 cup rice for cooking and draining the excess water afterward. That is a traditional method of cooking rice in Asia. The modern technique of cooking rice in water that is entirely absorbed by the grains has been promoted because it allows rice to retain more of its vitamins and other nutrients. But even though you may sacrifice some of rice’s nutritional value, research has shown that rinsing and using more water removes about 30 percent of the rice’s inorganic arsenic content.
Eat a varied diet. Some vegetables can accumulate arsenic when grown in contaminated soil. To help, clean vegetables thoroughly, especially potato skins. Some fruit juices such as apple and grape juice are high in arsenic, as our previous tests showed. To prevent obesity and tooth decay, pediatricians advise that infants younger than 6 months shouldn’t drink juice; children up to age 6 should have no more than 4 to 6 ounces a day and older children no more than 8 to 12 ounces. Like grape juice, wine also can be a source of exposure, according to data collected in the FDA’s Total Diet Study, which provides more complete information about arsenic content in a variety of foods. Go to fda.gov and search for “total diet study analytical results.”
Experiment with other grains. Vary your grains, especially if you eat more than two or three servings of rice per week. Though not arsenic-free, wheat and oats tend to have lower levels than rice. And quinoa, millet, and amaranth are among other options for those on a gluten-free diet, though they have not been studied as much.
THERE IS NO MENTION OF BABY RICE CEREAL HERE. SHOULD I STOP FEEDING IT TO MY GRANDSON ??
My view is that, yes rice contains arsenic, as do many agricultural products. Why it occurs at higher levels in some foods as opposed to others has not be determined. However, the levels are so small as to not pose a risk to anyone, especially infants and children because the amount of arsenic required to cause an adverse effect is much higher than occurs in food products and in addition, must be consumed over several decades at that higher level. The CR report did not discuss those issues.
Yes, in the full-length study report (found here), CR says they did test baby cereals and found significant levels in those too. And contrary to Bob’s comment, CR is making such a big deal because their studies have revealed “worrisome levels”(see first paragraph) in many of the foods studied. According to the chart included in that study, infant cereal tested had 9-23 times more arsenic than the Federal limit on drinking water (which is 10 ppb). I consider that a significant amount of arsenic. :/
Thankfully, it looks like they are working on legislation to limit those levels, but in the meantime I certainly wouldn’t want to feed my baby rice cereal!
Does your cautionary article apply equally to ORGANIC brown rice?
There is no need to limit exposure to any rice product because the relevant exposures that occur over a lifetime do not present a risk of harm. The amount of arsenic in a serving of any food is not relevant to risk because all effects of arsenic that occur at the small levels that occur in food are based on exposures over decades.
Bob — could you tell us what are the levels of arsenic that are considered dangerous, in ppb? Also, if you could cite a study supporting the statement that exposure must be over a lengthy period of time to be harmful, that would be helpful. So far, CR has given me the most detailed information on this issue, but I would like to hear from the sources you’ve read too.
It rice grown in the southern states were cotton fields used to be… Louisiana, Mississippi etc
I believe the full report indicates this applies to brown rice and to organic rice, and that the concern is based on a single serving–in fact they suggest limiting adults to only a couple of servings per week. And one reason that organic rice carries so much arsenic may be that the farmers use chicken manure from chickens fed a feed that contains arsenic. Also, as Chastity says, rice is grown where cotton used to be grown and arsenic was used heavily on cotton crops.
@Bob my family eats rice every da, I have 3 children with special needs 2 autism and 1 asthma so we do a gluten free diet which puts rice as one of our main grains. We do eat rice everyday and most times with more then one meal. By the way we were eating rice from New Orleans would you still say Bob that its not doing any harm?
You are simply saying that arsenic is cumulative in the body. And you are implying that a rice eater would die before that accumulation caused any problems with no qualifications or quantifications whatsoever, not to mention no stated credentials. It is transparent that you are a shill for the inorganic rice industry.
My comment is directed at “bob Mathews”
NASA has found life that substitutes phosphorus for arsenic in it’s DNA. It’s able to thrive, flourish and reproduce in an environment that contain toxic levels of arsenic. It’s crazy what toxicity can bring. Could humans adapt to arsenic as these microscopic organisms could?
Either way, it’s a crazy thought having arsenic in foods such as rice and cereal. First thing that it made me think of was that NASA discovery. Google “NASA arsenic” and I’m sure their blog will come-up number one. Kind of interesting and I figured worth sharing.
No, I am not saying arsenic is cumulative in the body. I am saying that adverse effects from the ingestion of toxicants like arsenic depend on the amount consumed and the length of time it is consumed. Scientists from two government agencies EPA and ATSDR derived safe exposures for arsenic based on scientific studies of arsenic. Both reference exposures correspond to about 18 micrograms of arsenic per day. Other studies have shown that the average intake of arsenic from the diet is no more than about 2 micrograms per day, on average and 2-3 times that for eaters that consume rice frequently. There are no studies of US citizens that suggest even remotely that arsenic in rice, water, or any other food product are a threat to health. The CR report considers none of this information.
Sorry I keep coming back, but as I’m responding I’m also researching. I looked up the EPA and ATSDR reports on arsenic, and in this report the highest allowable arsenic level is consistent with that cited by CR in their summary chart toward the end of the report.
Also, though I only skimmed it and found some of the figures unclear, I didn’t find anything inthis more detailed study to contradict CR’s concerns and findings, or to contradict the allowable dosage amount listed both by CR and the government organizations you mentioned. It seems CR did take into consideration these facts; further, the length of time required to cause cancer is no reason to discount these concerns. No one is suggesting people will drop dead from arsenic poisoning; rather, the concern is that many people do consume these products in problematic quantities over a lengthy period of time, especially people with special dietary needs and babies, who often consume more rice than average. Plus, the concern isn’t only about people dying — that’s the extreme scenario. We should also be concerned about our overall health, especially the development of our children.
Noelle, the primary consideration in determining if any exposure presents a risk is linking the duration of exposure used to derive a safe exposure limit with the average consumer exposure corresponding to the duration of the safe reference exposure. Long exposures require less toxicant to induce an effect and shorter exposures require more toxicant. So exposure durations must match. The ATSDR and EPA reference exposures for an average lifetime, about 75 years now, is 0.3 micrograms of inorganic arsenic per kilogram of body weight per day (mcg iAs/kg bw/day). This safe exposure is not relevant to infants and children because exposures that occur for periods shorter than an average lifetime require much larger amounts of arsenic to cause an adverse effect. So the relevant daily exposure for lifetime exposures from the diet is 18 mcg/day, based on FDA’s reference body weight for an adult; i.e., corresponding to a small adult’s body weight over most of a lifetime. Note that the “short term” safe exposure derived by ATSDR is 5 mcg iAs/kg bw/day, about 15 times larger than the long-term safe reference exposure. In addition, the CR report was misleading because it provided arsenic intakes from a “serving size”, about 45 g, based on FDA’s reference servings. No one consumes 45 g of rice daily, on average, over a long period of time, except some cultural groups. The average consumption rate of rice is 1 serving every 5 days and the 90th percentile rate is once every other day. USDA estimated amounts of rice consumed per eating occasion as 150 g on average, so that amounts consumed on average, based on NHANES food frequency data are about 30 g, on average (150 x 0.2). Based on literature data, rice is unlikely to contain more than 150 ppb iAs, or 0.15 mcg/g of rice, i.e., about 50% of 300 ppb total arsenic. Consequently, the average intake of iAs based on an average intake of 30 g of rice per day is about 4.5 mcg, but this actually exagerates the amount of arsenic consumed. A food intake model recently developed by scientists at EPA (Xue et al. 2010) indicate an average intake of inorganic arsenic from the average diet of about 2 micrograms per day. Far below the 18 mcg/day safe reference exposure derived by both ATSDR and EPA. Intakes shorter than an average lifetime are not relevant unless much higher than the long term safe reference exposures. Finally, several epidemiological studies have been performed in the US looking for the most sensitive form of cancer linked with arsenic, bladder cancer. No study has found a significant effect. In addition, studies in Japan, a high consuming rice culture also find no effects. The problem with inorganic arsenic occurs only in isolated areas where well water high in arsenic is consumed over long periods of time.
It is possible to read the list of the 200 products you found arsenic in. I appreciate the tips for limiting arsenic exposure thank you!
What about rice grown in other places? I bought some rice grown in Thailand in the hopes of avoiding some of the problem, but I don’t know what it might be exposed to there? I’ve also seen Italian arborio rice (for risotto). Thanks for the tips on reducing arsenic, CR.
Having grown up on a farm where many different pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, etc. were promoted by University Extension and various other well-meaning, but chemical industry indoctrinated “experts”, I challenge anyone to tell me why I should tolerate ANY FOOD that contains substances that are NOT NATURALLY occurring/created by and in my body pre-scientific intervention!
AND where are the scientific studies that tell us the residual effects of 250 unnatural substances which now occur at the same time in a new baby’s body? Are we to believe that there is NO EFFECT or interaction of these with our natural body chemistry and NO undesirable effects from their interaction with each other? Have there been any studies done? If not, why not? If so, where can they be found?
It seems very calculated that the focus of the pro-”we should be able to do whatever makes money” group ALWAYS talks about SINGULAR substances rather than the effect of that substance as an addition to the hundreds our bodies are already dealing with!!
Since it is so difficult to find answers to the REAL questions, it’s also impossible for me to believe or give credence to ANY information about JUST ONE substance, regardless of the purported
“scientific” significance or the “miracle” of it’s creation!
Oh my gosh. I have a severe food allergy and have been eating mostly rice and rice cakes for more than a decade.
A few years ago I became very sick. Parethesias and neuro symptoms as well as fibrosis in hands and low platelets. The drs never EVER tested me for this!!
I am still very sick and had anaphylxis as well.
I am worried now. I feel I should write up my will. I am getting this tested as soon as possible, yet I know there is no way to get it out.
Sorenna — good news! Arsenic can be purged from the body, although length of exposure does increase the amount of damage done. Check out this article:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/6512-need-arsenic-poisoning-symptoms/
Best wishes to you!