Health & Medicine
High Amounts of Lead Found in Imported Rice, Exposure can Greatly Affect Cognitive Developement
Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Apr 11, 2013 10:54 AM EDT
An alarming amount of metal has been found in a number of imported brands of rice.
According to the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society, a group of researchers lead by Tsananguaryi Tongesayi, an associate professor of chemistry at Monmouth University in New Jersey announced the results of their analysis of rice from Asia, Europe and South America. The imports, which make up approximately 7 percent of rice consumed in America, contained a much greater amount of lead than what is acceptable.
Levels ranged from six milligrams/kilogram to 12 milligrams/kilogram. Considering the average amount of rice consumed, it's estimated that lead exposure levels were 30 to 60 times greater than the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) provisional total tolerable intake (PTTI) levels for children and 20-40 times greater than the standard exposure levels for adults.
The agency's PTTI represent the maximum level of contaminant exposure before potentially toxic or adverse health effects might occur. "Now, according to the FDA, for chemical toxicants to cause a health effect, they have to be ten times the PTTI. Our calculated exposure levels were two to 12 times higher than ten times the PTTI. Meaning, they can cause adverse health effects," Tongesayi said.
As Asian populations in the United States tend to consume the most rice, researchers also calculated that exposure levels may be higher among those groups, with children and infants exposed to 60 to 120 times higher than the FDA's PTTI. This could cause lead poisoning in children under six years, which can be fatal.
"The thing is that is rice becoming a staple food for a larger percentage of the population," Tongesayi said. He also believes these calculations are rather conservative.
Rice from Taiwan and China contained the highest levels of lead, although rice from Italy, India, Thailand, Bhutan and the Czech Republic also contained levels higher than the PTTI.
Lead exposure can greatly affect cognitive development in children, as well as cause problems concerning blood pressure, heart disease and calcium deficiency. His team is working to investigate the issue further, according to reports.
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First Posted: Apr 11, 2013 10:54 AM EDT
An alarming amount of metal has been found in a number of imported brands of rice.
According to the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society, a group of researchers lead by Tsananguaryi Tongesayi, an associate professor of chemistry at Monmouth University in New Jersey announced the results of their analysis of rice from Asia, Europe and South America. The imports, which make up approximately 7 percent of rice consumed in America, contained a much greater amount of lead than what is acceptable.
Levels ranged from six milligrams/kilogram to 12 milligrams/kilogram. Considering the average amount of rice consumed, it's estimated that lead exposure levels were 30 to 60 times greater than the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) provisional total tolerable intake (PTTI) levels for children and 20-40 times greater than the standard exposure levels for adults.
The agency's PTTI represent the maximum level of contaminant exposure before potentially toxic or adverse health effects might occur. "Now, according to the FDA, for chemical toxicants to cause a health effect, they have to be ten times the PTTI. Our calculated exposure levels were two to 12 times higher than ten times the PTTI. Meaning, they can cause adverse health effects," Tongesayi said.
As Asian populations in the United States tend to consume the most rice, researchers also calculated that exposure levels may be higher among those groups, with children and infants exposed to 60 to 120 times higher than the FDA's PTTI. This could cause lead poisoning in children under six years, which can be fatal.
"The thing is that is rice becoming a staple food for a larger percentage of the population," Tongesayi said. He also believes these calculations are rather conservative.
Rice from Taiwan and China contained the highest levels of lead, although rice from Italy, India, Thailand, Bhutan and the Czech Republic also contained levels higher than the PTTI.
Lead exposure can greatly affect cognitive development in children, as well as cause problems concerning blood pressure, heart disease and calcium deficiency. His team is working to investigate the issue further, according to reports.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone