Milling & Baking News - December 9, 2014 - 30

Nutrition and Health

USA Rice Federation disputes
latest arsenic report
ARLINGTON, VA. - An executive of
the USA Rice Federation on Nov. 18 said
the federation has not seen any science
that supports new assertions by Consumer Reports showing potentially dangerous
arsenic consumption when children eat
rice (see related story on Page 1.)
"Arsenic in our food supply is a challenging, yet unavoidable, situation,
which is why we support the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration studying the
issue carefully," said Betsy Ward, president and chief executive officer of the
Arlington-based USA Rice Federation.
"But CR's new consumption recommendations aren't supported by any
science that we've seen."
Consumer Reports originally released
a report on arsenic in rice in 2012. Most
recently Consumer Reports examined
data released by the F.D.A. in 2013 on
the inorganic arsenic content of 656
processed rice-containing products.
Consumer Reports found rice cereal
and rice pasta may have more inorganic arsenic (a carcinogen) than the
2012 data showed. The new tests from
Consumer Reports showed one serving
of rice cereal or rice pasta could put
children over the maximum amount
of rice that Consumer Reports recommends they have in a week.
"Rice cakes supply close to a child's
weekly limit in one serving," Consumer Reports said. "Rice drinks also
can be high in arsenic, and children
younger than 5 shouldn't drink them
instead of milk."
Arsenic has two chemical forms:
organic and inorganic. Organic may
be less toxic, according to Consumer
Reports. Regular exposure to small
amounts of arsenic has been shown to

increase the risk of bladder, lung and
skin cancer, as well as heart disease
and type 2 diabetes, according to Consumer Reports.
Scientists from the F.D.A. in 2013
determined the amount of detectable
arsenic is too low in rice and rice product samples to cause any immediate or
short-term adverse health effects. Ms.
Ward said the rice industry, labs at land
grant universities and the F.D.A. have
tested U.S.-grown rice extensively. The
rice has been found to contain arsenic
levels that are below safe maximum
levels established by the World Health
Organization/Food and Agriculture
Organization's Codex Alimentarius.
Consumer Reports also investigated
arsenic levels of different types of rice
and other grains, including glutenfree grains. Scientists at its Food Safety
and Sustainability Center tested 128
samples of basmati, jasmine and sushi rice for arsenic. Results were combined with the results of 2012 tests and
F.D.A. data on arsenic in rice for a total
of 697 samples of rice.
"Our latest tests determined that the
inorganic arsenic content of rice varies
greatly depending on the type of rice
and where it was grown," Consumer
Reports said. "White basmati rice from
California, India and Pakistan and sushi rice from the U.S. on average has
half of the inorganic arsenic amount of
most other types of rice."
All types of rice (except sushi and
quick cooking) with a label indicating
it's from Arkansas, Louisiana or Texas
or just from the United States had the
highest levels of inorganic arsenic in
the tests. For instance, white rices from
California had 38% less inorganic

arsenic than white rices from other
parts of the country.
Brown rice has 80% more inorganic
arsenic on average than white rice
of the same type, according to Consumer Reports. Arsenic accumulates
in the grain's outer layers, which are
removed to make white rice. Brown
basmati from California, India or
Pakistan is the best choice since it has
about a third less inorganic arsenic
than brown rice from other areas, according to Consumer Reports.
The USA Rice Federation said it still
is analyzing the new Consumer Reports
data and that it found the regional
claims perplexing.
"All the tests we've seen show that
levels of inorganic arsenic are lowest
in U.S.-grown rice, regardless of what
state it came from," said Michael Klein,
a spokesperson for the federation.
He said few, if any, rice packages identify the state where the rice was grown.
"We've seen levels vary from plot
to plot and field to field," he said. "So
making blanket statements about one
state versus another is totally unscientific, disingenuous and misleading.
Analyzing toxins in food is not the same
as analyzing which television gives you
the best picture in a well-lit room. CR
should let the F.D.A. continue its careful
scientific evaluation and make the recommendations to the public."
Consumer Reports also looked at the
inorganic arsenic levels in 114 samples
of non-rice grains. The gluten-free
grains amaranth, buckwheat, millet
and polenta or grits had negligible levels of inorganic arsenic. Gluten-containing grains bulgur, barley and farro
also had very little arsenic. Gluten-free
quinoa had average inorganic arsenic
levels comparable to those of other alternative grains, but some samples of
quinoa had "quite a bit more." MBN

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30 / December 9, 2014

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