FDA Confirms Arsenic Levels in Rice Pose No Immediate Threat

Good news comes for rice lovers, who may have feared with recent news from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that levels of arsenic found in the product could have been unfortunate for their favorite food. 

The organization made an announcement Sept. 6 regarding arsenic levels, promting an investigation regarding over 1,300 samples of rice and rice products for total arsenic and inorganic arsenic--a form of arsenic that has been linked to cancer. 

Statistics show that the average levels of inorganic arsenic found in rice gains were between 2.6 and 7.2 micrograms per serving. Instant rice also had low levels, while brown rice had higher levels, according to the FDA. Products that were made from rice, including infant forumla, also showed lower levels of inorganic arsenic, ranging from 0.1 to 6.6 micrograms per serving. 

The FDA states that they are still working to assess health concerns regarding arsenic and other rice products that could potentially be harmful, esepcially to certain groups of people, including pregnant women or children.

The FDA is also pushing for advice it gave last year regarding concerns related to arsenic in rice, suggesting that individuals eat a balanced diet in order to minimize health effects that come with ingestion of mainly one nutritional product. 

For more information, see the original announcement, here.