Arsenic and Old Rice
There’s a new villain in town, and its name is arsenic.
You probably remember reading about high levels of arsenic
found in apple and grape juice. Consumer Reports ran a similar investigation on
rice and discovered “measurable amounts” of arsenic in nearly all of their 200
samples.
Before I go into what this means for our health or explain
how arsenic ends up in our rice supply, let me describe the two different types
of arsenic: organic and inorganic.
According to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency),
arsenic is “a semi-metallic element
found in soils, groundwater, surface water, air, and some foods.” It occurs
naturally and is usually found combined with other elements such as oxygen,
chlorine, and sulfur. When combined with these elements, it’s referred to as inorganic arsenic. When arsenic is
combined with carbon and hydrogen, it’s called organic arsenic.
Most of the time,
organic and inorganic arsenic compounds don’t have a taste or a scent, and are
impossible to detect in food, water, or air. Arsenic is no longer produced in
the U.S. and is imported from other countries. Most of it is used to preserve
wood so it doesn’t rot. You’ve probably heard of the term “pressure-treated
wood.” In 2003, manufacturers quit producing this type of wood for play
structures, decks, picnic tables, and other items sold for use in residential
areas. Inorganic arsenic was once used as a pesticide in cotton and orchard
fields, although now organic compounds are used, mostly on cotton plantations.
What I found
interesting is that arsenic can change form. It can become attached to or
separated from particles. But it cannot be destroyed. And guess what? It’s
everywhere. It becomes carried on the air. It washes into lakes and streams.
Some fish and shellfish take in arsenic, although most of the time it’s in a
less harmful organic form. We are exposed to arsenic through eating, drinking,
and breathing.
Most of the arsenic we
take in comes from food, with seafood being the most predominant. Rice and rice
cereal, mushrooms, and poultry often contain arsenic as well. According to the
EPA, people generally take in about 50 micrograms of organic arsenic (from
several different sources) a day. We take in the more dangerous type of
arsenic, inorganic arsenic, a much smaller amount; generally 3.5 micrograms a day.
Both organic and inorganic leave the body through urine.
Consuming high amounts
of inorganic arsenic can kill you. Swallowing lower levels may cause nausea,
stomachaches, vomiting, and diarrhea. It can also cause a lower production of
red and white blood cells, which creates fatigue, abnormal heartbeats, nerve
problems, and blood vessel damage. Long-term exposure can cause skin cancer,
warts on the palms, soles, and torso, and an increased risk of liver, bladder,
and lung cancer.
The EPA mentions that there is very little information on how
organic arsenic affects humans. It’s considered less harmful than inorganic,
although long-term exposure in animals has shown to result in diarrhea and in
kidney damage.
Now that you’re aware of what organic and inorganic arsenic is
and where it’s found, I’ll go into detail about what Consumer Reports found in
its analysis.
First of all, they discovered that white rice grown in
Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri , and Texas had higher levels of both organic and
inorganic arsenic in their tests than rice samples from any other place. In
general, brown rice contained more inorganic arsenic than white rice. Why?
Because only the hull is removed in brown rice. The bran that remains has a
high concentration of arsenic. When this bran is removed, so is some of the
arsenic. (Consumer Reports November
2012 p. 22, 24)
So how did the inorganic arsenic end up in our rice?
Insecticides. As usual, man has come up with a way to both keep our food safe
from bugs and parasites and poison us, all at the same time. The use of these
pesticides was banned in the 1980s, but as I pointed out earlier, you can’t get
rid of arsenic. And now it lingers in our soil. The same soil where we grow our
food. Also, and this is ludicrous to me, arsenic is permitted for use in animal
feed for a purpose similar to antibiotics. The fertilizer produced from these
animals contaminates crops with arsenic.
If you’d like to know how much rice is considered safe for
children and adults to consume, check out this Huffington Post article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/19/rice-recommendations-arsenic-safe_n_1897598.html
Okay, that concludes my research on the Consumer Reports findings. Let’s take a look at tests the FDA
performed. First of all, let me stress that there isn’t any FDA approved limit
for arsenic in most food. But here is what the FDA states on its website: “The
FDA has collected and tested rice for total arsenic for about 20 years. On
September 19, 2012, the FDA released the first analytical
results of nearly 200 samples of rice and rice products tested
for both total and inorganic arsenic. The FDA is collecting and analyzing more
than 1,000 additional rice and rice product samples, and will post additional
data as results become available.”
The website mentions that their analysis is consistent with
the findings from Consumer Reports. However,
it is yet to be proven that consuming great amounts of rice or rice products
causes the types of illnesses associated with arsenic. The FDA is continuing
its study on arsenic in rice, but at this time does not feel the public needs
to be alarmed. They stress that people should eat a balanced diet with a
variety of grains.
The FDA found that the average rice or rice product contained
3.5 to 6.7 micrograms of inorganic arsenic per serving. Although the FDA
doesn’t have a safety standard for arsenic in food at this time, it has set the
safety level for water at 10 micrograms in one liter of bottled water or 10
parts per billion (ppb), which was adopted from the EPA’s standard. So if you
consume one serving of rice, you are well within the limits of safety according
to this measure. Two servings may put you over the limit, depending on the
levels of arsenic within the product. This limit was set in 2001.
The EPA states that in drinking water, inorganic arsenic is
more prevalent than organic arsenic. They linked arsenic in drinking water to
the health risks I mentioned earlier, thus set this standard to protect
consumers.
There is still more research to be done, but as it stands now,
here is a recap of my findings:
The EPA found a connection between health risks and arsenic in
water. Rice is grown in water. It absorbs both organic and inorganic arsenic
well. Inorganic arsenic can cause cancer. Organic arsenic is less toxic. It
cannot be proven that consuming rice or rice products cause cancer. There is no
set standard of how much arsenic in rice is safe for consumption. If using the
guidelines given for water consumption, most levels in one serving of rice are
safe for adults and children. (Remember, a serving for children is less than a
serving for adults. Check labels to determine how much one serving is for
individuals.)
This is another case of possible sensationalism mixed with a
need to be aware of what one is putting into his or her body. Until more
research is done, we won’t know if consuming large quantities of rice over a
lifetime may be a health risk. But I will leave you with one more finding I
discovered. In America, the liver and stomach cancer incidences and death rates
are higher for Asians and Pacific Islanders than for any other ethnic group.
According to www.cancer.gov, one cause is a
bacterium called H. pylori. But I want to put this thought out there…what if
one of the reasons the Asian population has more occurrences of stomach cancer
is because they consume more rice than some other ethnic groups? I’d be curious
to know if anyone has done any research on this. So far I have not found any
sources that can provide me any information on this matter. But if I do, you
will be the first to know.
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