I don't know, Indians and Chinese eat rice almost 3 times a day.
Food safety experts explain what to know about arsenic in rice, including how worried you should be and ways to reduce the risk.
Arsenic in rice isn’t a new concern, but a recent report published by Healthy Babies Bright Futures (HBBF) brought the issue back into the spotlight. The study found arsenic in all 145 rice samples bought at stores across the United States. More than a quarter surpassed 100 parts per billion (ppb) of inorganic arsenic, the Canadian and American federal limits for infant rice cereal.
Health Canada says rice and fruit juice are the most common dietary sources of inorganic arsenic, a toxic chemical. So, how worried should you be?
“With all things to do with food safety, it comes down to reducing the risk of exposure,” says Lawrence Goodridge, a professor at the University of Guelph’s Department of Food Science and director of the Canadian Research Institute for Food Safety, who wasn’t involved in the HBBF report. “People can reduce their risk by consuming less of those foods.”
Arsenic was “the poison of choice in Victorian times,” says Keith Warriner, a professor at the University of Guelph’s Department of Food Science, who wasn’t involved in the HBBF report. It’s also ubiquitous. “The reality is, arsenic is everywhere. So it’s not a case where you can avoid it.”
Warriner underscores that people shouldn’t stop eating rice altogether because of arsenic. After all, it’s a staple of many cuisines with cultural significance and health benefits. “It’s a concern to have, but it’s not ‘I’m going to give up rice’ because there are things we can do to minimize.”
Here are ways to reduce the risk, from the rice you buy and how you cook it to diversifying your diet with grains lower in heavy metals such as arsenic.
KIDS ARE AT THE HIGHEST RISK
The more toxic of its chemical forms, inorganic arsenic is considered a carcinogen and is naturally present in soil and groundwater.
Long-term exposure has been associated with an increased risk of health problems, including cancer, cardiovascular disease and skin lesions. When exposure happens in utero or during childhood, it “may affect development and increase the risk of cancer in adulthood,” according to .
Babies and young children are “the real concern,” says Goodridge. The toxicity accumulates more easily because they’re smaller and their body weight is lower.
“Infant rice products can be a source of significant exposure,” he adds. “It doesn’t mean you can’t give it to your kids, but limit it. It shouldn’t be the primary grain cereal that they’re fed. It shouldn’t be the primary milk that they’re given.”
Goodridge advises rotating rice-based foods such as cereals with other grains. The same goes for rice milk and fruit juice, which Health Canada recommends limiting for children under two. The recommendations also apply during pregnancy because arsenic exposure can affect the developing fetus.
“Like most risks we have in life, it all depends on exposure and the amounts we get. If we go on the (Ontario Highway) 401 every day, our probability of crashing will be higher than someone who travels there once a year,” says Warriner. “The more frequently you consume (rice), the more likely you are to accumulate it because arsenic accumulates. That’s one of the bad things about it.”
ALL RICE TYPES AREN’T EQUAL
With rice, studies suggest all is not equal. Inorganic arsenic levels can vary by type and growing region. The HBBF report found that brown rice, Italian Arborio rice (used to make risotto) and white rice grown in the southeastern United States had higher amounts of heavy metals. On average, California rice (Calrose, sushi, jasmine, white), Thai jasmine rice and Indian basmati rice had 32 per cent less heavy metals than other types.
Arsenic is a naturally occurring element but can also be introduced through human activities, such as mining and pesticide use.
Rice grown in southeastern U.S. states such as Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas tends to have higher arsenic levels because, according to Goodridge, cotton farmers used arsenic-based pesticides to treat their crops in the past, contaminating fields now used to grow rice.
Brown rice is prone to higher levels than white because it retains arsenic in the bran layer. “One thing that people can do is moderate their intake of certain types of rice,” says Goodridge. “The key is, if you like brown rice, limit the frequency.”
Many choose brown rice because it contains more fibre and nutrients than white. As a whole grain, the bran, endosperm and germ are intact. The rub is that the arsenic happens to accumulate where the nutrients are. “That’s one of the problems. Getting rid of arsenic also can get rid of nutrients (such as iron),” says Warriner. “So it’s all a place of balancing things.”
DIVERSIFY YOUR GRAINS
Rice tends to have higher levels of arsenic than other grains, so Goodridge advises people to diversify their diets. The HBBF report found that alternative grains, including barley, couscous, farro, oats and quinoa, have 69 per cent less heavy metal contamination than rice.
Rice is more susceptible to arsenic due to a combination of factors, including plant physiology. “Different plants have different capacities to accumulate,” says Warriner. “They transport this arsenic in. And some, it’s actually a nutrient. There are microbes out there that need this sort of arsenic.”
The cultivation method in paddy fields is another reason. “If the arsenic is in the water, which it is, and you flood it, and you’re exposing the poor plant to all this stuff, it would accumulate more,” adds Warriner. “If it’s in the environment, it gets sponged up into the rice itself.”
As with rice, certain fruits can be susceptible to arsenic because it’s present in water used for irrigation or juice dilution, Goodridge highlights. Compounding the issue, some fruit orchards (especially apple) were historically treated with arsenic-based pesticides. The arsenic lingers in the soil and can enter the tree and fruit.
Health Canada has set maximum levels for inorganic arsenic in fruit juice and nectar, brown and white rice, and rice-based foods for infants and young children.
Goodridge thinks Canadians should be confident in the limits but cautions that regulations aren’t perfect. The government sets rules to ensure the food we buy is free from harmful bacteria, yet people still get sick, and outbreaks continue to occur.
“Consumers have to take their own responsibility for ensuring the practices that they do reduce the risk, reduce the chances of getting sick. Health Canada sets these limits. That’s great. That means that what’s in the grocery store should have lower limits. So now, if on top of that, consumers take additional steps, they further reduce the risk.”
COOK YOUR RICE IN PLENTY OF WATER
If you’re concerned about arsenic and open to changing your rice preparation and cooking methods, you can perform an extraction in the kitchen. “It’s all to do with volumes of water,” says Warriner, a former chef as well as a food scientist. “Can you extract that arsenic out of it and throw it away in the sink?”
One option is parboiling. After rinsing and soaking your rice, add it to a pot of boiling water — “the higher the volume of water, the better” — and cook for five minutes. Drain the rice (discard the cooking water) and return it to the pot with fresh water. Using a two-to-one ratio of water to rice, cover and cook over low-to-medium heat for an additional eight minutes to make “the magic 13 minutes for cooking rice,” adds Warriner.
A 2020 University of Sheffield study suggests that parboiling rice using a four-to-one ratio and then cooking it until all the water is absorbed (called the absorption method) using a two-to-one ratio removes 54 per cent of the inorganic arsenic in brown rice and 74 per cent in white rice. Adding to its benefits, the study shows “no loss of micronutrients.”
In practice, Warriner prefers the “nice, loose” texture of the absorption method. While it doesn’t yield any arsenic extraction, he eats rice once a week at most. “I don’t usually have it more than that, so your exposure is going to be much less.”
Another option is cooking rice like pasta, which Health Canada recommends. Goodridge highlights that you should always rinse your rice and, if you have time, soak it, even for just 10 minutes, before adding six to 10 parts water to one part rice. Once the rice is cooked, drain the excess water.
Compared to the absorption method on a stovetop or in a rice cooker, this technique “will significantly reduce inorganic arsenic by up to 50 to 60 per cent,” says Goodridge. Parboiling and cooking rice like pasta “are the two main cooking methods that would significantly reduce arsenic. And if you’re eating white rice versus brown rice, then that rice has much less arsenic than the brown rice.”
nationalpost.com
Food safety experts explain what to know about arsenic in rice, including how worried you should be and ways to reduce the risk.
Arsenic in rice isn’t a new concern, but a recent report published by Healthy Babies Bright Futures (HBBF) brought the issue back into the spotlight. The study found arsenic in all 145 rice samples bought at stores across the United States. More than a quarter surpassed 100 parts per billion (ppb) of inorganic arsenic, the Canadian and American federal limits for infant rice cereal.
Health Canada says rice and fruit juice are the most common dietary sources of inorganic arsenic, a toxic chemical. So, how worried should you be?
“With all things to do with food safety, it comes down to reducing the risk of exposure,” says Lawrence Goodridge, a professor at the University of Guelph’s Department of Food Science and director of the Canadian Research Institute for Food Safety, who wasn’t involved in the HBBF report. “People can reduce their risk by consuming less of those foods.”
Arsenic was “the poison of choice in Victorian times,” says Keith Warriner, a professor at the University of Guelph’s Department of Food Science, who wasn’t involved in the HBBF report. It’s also ubiquitous. “The reality is, arsenic is everywhere. So it’s not a case where you can avoid it.”
Warriner underscores that people shouldn’t stop eating rice altogether because of arsenic. After all, it’s a staple of many cuisines with cultural significance and health benefits. “It’s a concern to have, but it’s not ‘I’m going to give up rice’ because there are things we can do to minimize.”
Here are ways to reduce the risk, from the rice you buy and how you cook it to diversifying your diet with grains lower in heavy metals such as arsenic.
KIDS ARE AT THE HIGHEST RISK
The more toxic of its chemical forms, inorganic arsenic is considered a carcinogen and is naturally present in soil and groundwater.
Long-term exposure has been associated with an increased risk of health problems, including cancer, cardiovascular disease and skin lesions. When exposure happens in utero or during childhood, it “may affect development and increase the risk of cancer in adulthood,” according to .
Babies and young children are “the real concern,” says Goodridge. The toxicity accumulates more easily because they’re smaller and their body weight is lower.
“Infant rice products can be a source of significant exposure,” he adds. “It doesn’t mean you can’t give it to your kids, but limit it. It shouldn’t be the primary grain cereal that they’re fed. It shouldn’t be the primary milk that they’re given.”
Goodridge advises rotating rice-based foods such as cereals with other grains. The same goes for rice milk and fruit juice, which Health Canada recommends limiting for children under two. The recommendations also apply during pregnancy because arsenic exposure can affect the developing fetus.
“Like most risks we have in life, it all depends on exposure and the amounts we get. If we go on the (Ontario Highway) 401 every day, our probability of crashing will be higher than someone who travels there once a year,” says Warriner. “The more frequently you consume (rice), the more likely you are to accumulate it because arsenic accumulates. That’s one of the bad things about it.”
ALL RICE TYPES AREN’T EQUAL
With rice, studies suggest all is not equal. Inorganic arsenic levels can vary by type and growing region. The HBBF report found that brown rice, Italian Arborio rice (used to make risotto) and white rice grown in the southeastern United States had higher amounts of heavy metals. On average, California rice (Calrose, sushi, jasmine, white), Thai jasmine rice and Indian basmati rice had 32 per cent less heavy metals than other types.
Arsenic is a naturally occurring element but can also be introduced through human activities, such as mining and pesticide use.
Rice grown in southeastern U.S. states such as Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas tends to have higher arsenic levels because, according to Goodridge, cotton farmers used arsenic-based pesticides to treat their crops in the past, contaminating fields now used to grow rice.
Brown rice is prone to higher levels than white because it retains arsenic in the bran layer. “One thing that people can do is moderate their intake of certain types of rice,” says Goodridge. “The key is, if you like brown rice, limit the frequency.”
Many choose brown rice because it contains more fibre and nutrients than white. As a whole grain, the bran, endosperm and germ are intact. The rub is that the arsenic happens to accumulate where the nutrients are. “That’s one of the problems. Getting rid of arsenic also can get rid of nutrients (such as iron),” says Warriner. “So it’s all a place of balancing things.”
DIVERSIFY YOUR GRAINS
Rice tends to have higher levels of arsenic than other grains, so Goodridge advises people to diversify their diets. The HBBF report found that alternative grains, including barley, couscous, farro, oats and quinoa, have 69 per cent less heavy metal contamination than rice.
Rice is more susceptible to arsenic due to a combination of factors, including plant physiology. “Different plants have different capacities to accumulate,” says Warriner. “They transport this arsenic in. And some, it’s actually a nutrient. There are microbes out there that need this sort of arsenic.”
The cultivation method in paddy fields is another reason. “If the arsenic is in the water, which it is, and you flood it, and you’re exposing the poor plant to all this stuff, it would accumulate more,” adds Warriner. “If it’s in the environment, it gets sponged up into the rice itself.”
As with rice, certain fruits can be susceptible to arsenic because it’s present in water used for irrigation or juice dilution, Goodridge highlights. Compounding the issue, some fruit orchards (especially apple) were historically treated with arsenic-based pesticides. The arsenic lingers in the soil and can enter the tree and fruit.
Health Canada has set maximum levels for inorganic arsenic in fruit juice and nectar, brown and white rice, and rice-based foods for infants and young children.
Goodridge thinks Canadians should be confident in the limits but cautions that regulations aren’t perfect. The government sets rules to ensure the food we buy is free from harmful bacteria, yet people still get sick, and outbreaks continue to occur.
“Consumers have to take their own responsibility for ensuring the practices that they do reduce the risk, reduce the chances of getting sick. Health Canada sets these limits. That’s great. That means that what’s in the grocery store should have lower limits. So now, if on top of that, consumers take additional steps, they further reduce the risk.”
COOK YOUR RICE IN PLENTY OF WATER
If you’re concerned about arsenic and open to changing your rice preparation and cooking methods, you can perform an extraction in the kitchen. “It’s all to do with volumes of water,” says Warriner, a former chef as well as a food scientist. “Can you extract that arsenic out of it and throw it away in the sink?”
One option is parboiling. After rinsing and soaking your rice, add it to a pot of boiling water — “the higher the volume of water, the better” — and cook for five minutes. Drain the rice (discard the cooking water) and return it to the pot with fresh water. Using a two-to-one ratio of water to rice, cover and cook over low-to-medium heat for an additional eight minutes to make “the magic 13 minutes for cooking rice,” adds Warriner.
A 2020 University of Sheffield study suggests that parboiling rice using a four-to-one ratio and then cooking it until all the water is absorbed (called the absorption method) using a two-to-one ratio removes 54 per cent of the inorganic arsenic in brown rice and 74 per cent in white rice. Adding to its benefits, the study shows “no loss of micronutrients.”
In practice, Warriner prefers the “nice, loose” texture of the absorption method. While it doesn’t yield any arsenic extraction, he eats rice once a week at most. “I don’t usually have it more than that, so your exposure is going to be much less.”
Another option is cooking rice like pasta, which Health Canada recommends. Goodridge highlights that you should always rinse your rice and, if you have time, soak it, even for just 10 minutes, before adding six to 10 parts water to one part rice. Once the rice is cooked, drain the excess water.
Compared to the absorption method on a stovetop or in a rice cooker, this technique “will significantly reduce inorganic arsenic by up to 50 to 60 per cent,” says Goodridge. Parboiling and cooking rice like pasta “are the two main cooking methods that would significantly reduce arsenic. And if you’re eating white rice versus brown rice, then that rice has much less arsenic than the brown rice.”
Does rice contain arsenic? Yes, here's how you can reduce the risk
Food safety experts explain what to know about arsenic in rice, including how worried you should be and ways to reduce the risk. Learn more
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