Q: I eat rice regularly, but I’ve heard it contains arsenic. Should I avoid it?
Some recent alarming headlines have been warning that rice sold in the United States contains dangerous levels of arsenic.
The news was based on a report — published in May by Healthy Babies Bright Futures, a nonprofit focused on reducing children’s exposures to toxic chemicals — that highlighted real concerns, experts say. Arsenic is one of several heavy metals commonly found in rice, and it has been linked with impaired brain development in children as well as cancer, diabetes and heart disease in adults.
The findings are most troubling for pregnant women, young children and those who eat rice regularly, said Margaret Karagas, a professor of epidemiology at the Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine. The good news, she said, is that there are ways to reduce your exposure.
What did the new analysis reveal?
The investigators collected 145 rice samples sold on Amazon and in stores across the United States, including Trader Joe’s, Safeway, Costco and Target. The rice was either grown in the United States or imported from other countries. The team also purchased grains like couscous, farro, quinoa and spelt — and sent everything to a lab for heavy metal testing.
That testing revealed that all of the rice samples contained a form of arsenic called inorganic arsenic, which is the most toxic and concerning to health. About a third of those samples exceeded the Food and Drug Administration’s recommended limit for inorganic arsenic in rice cereals for infants. And on average, the samples contained 28 times as much arsenic as the other grains tested.
The analysis also showed that brown rice contained more arsenic than white rice. And the levels varied depending on where the rice was grown. The highest concentrations were found in arborio rice from Italy and white and brown rices from the southeastern United States. Sushi, jasmine and other types of white rice from California, as well as jasmine rice from Thailand and basmati rice from India, had the lowest levels.