Rice as a source of arsenic exposure
Date: 9.12.2011
The study just published by a Dartmouth team of scientists in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) advances our understanding of the sources of human exposure to arsenic and focuses attention on the potential for consuming harmful levels of arsenic via rice.
Arsenic occurs naturally in the environment and in elevated concentrations it can be harmful to human health. Rice is susceptible to arsenic contamination due to its ability to extract arsenic from the environment into the rice plant.
The authors conclude that their findings highlight the need to monitor arsenic in food, noting that China already has statutory limits on arsenic content in rice (0.15 micrograms of inorganic arsenic per kilogram of food) but the U.S. and the E.U. do not. Rice concentrations vary widely throughout the world and between species and growing conditions.
