Amount of Arsenic in Rice is too Low to Cause Any Negative Effects, FDA Finds

An analysis of over 1,300 samples of rice and rice products has revealed that the amount of detectable arsenic is too low to cause any immediate or short term negative effects, the US Food and Drug Administration revealed. A recent study carried out by Consumer Reports had revealed the presence of inorganic arsenic in 60 of the most popular rice products, including Kellogg's Rice Krispies to Gerber infant cereal.

However the analysis carried out by the FDA has found no evidence of short term negative effects caused by the presence of arsenic and the agency said that it will now be carrying out a new analysis to test whether long term exposure to such levels of arsenic is harmful.

“These are the next steps. To look at exposure levels, to analyze the risk, and determine how to minimize that risk for the overall safety of consumers, including vulnerable groups like children and pregnant women. One of the things we need to emphasize is that arsenic is a naturally occurring contaminant, and because it's in soil and water, it's going to get into food. It's not something that we can just pull off the market”, the senior advisor for toxicology in FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), Suzanne Fitzpatrick said.



Source-Medindia