A new report is bringing attention to toxic heavy metals and elements such as arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury that could be in your rice.
The report, which comes from Healthy Babies, Bright Futures, an organization focused on babies’ exposure to toxic chemicals, says arsenic was found in 100% of 145 rice samples purchased from stores across the U.S.
One in four rice samples also exceeded the federal limit of 100 parts per billion (ppb) of inorganic arsenic set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for infant rice cereal in 2021, according to the report.
“No such limit exists for rice itself — the bags and boxes of rice served at family meals — despite it being widely consumed by infants and toddlers,” the authors note.
Overall, the levels of total heavy metals, including inorganic arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury, ranged on average from 63 ppb to 188 pbb among the rice samples — though one sample exceeded 240 ppb, for example.
The group also tested 66 samples of other grains, including quinoa, barley and couscous, and found they had much lower levels of toxic heavy metals.
The rice and grain samples included 105 different brands, including Trader Joe’s, Ben’s and Goya, from 20 metro areas across the country, from New York City to Los Angeles and Miami. Of the four toxic heavy metals found, arsenic was found at the highest levels and cadmium was second. Lead and mercury were found at the lowest levels.
The organization also found some types of rice had higher levels of heavy metals and elements than others. White rice grown in California, jasmine rice from Thailand and basmati rice from India had lower levels than brown rice, white rice grown in the Southeast U.S. and arborio rice (risotto) from Italy.
In an emailed statement to CBS News, the USA Rice Federation said Thursday, “We know that arsenic in food is alarming for many consumers and that you may have questions. And while we do not agree that there is a public health safety issue as a result of trace amounts of arsenic in rice, we will continue to work with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ensure the U.S. rice supply meets any threshold established.”
Very low levels of inorganic and organic arsenic are found in many food products, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Inorganic arsenic is more toxic to humans than the naturally occurring form of the mineral arsenic, and the health effects from exposure are more severe, according to the FDA. The Environmental Protection Agency has labeled inorganic arsenic a carcinogen, or a substance that causes cancer.
For those concerned, there are ways to reduce your exposure, including different cooking methods and rice alternatives.
Sara Moniuszko is a health and lifestyle reporter at CBSNews.com. Previously, she wrote for USA Today, where she was selected to help launch the newspaper’s wellness vertical. She now covers breaking and trending news for CBS News’ HealthWatch.
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