(Image source: Wikimedia Commons )


BY SHANLEY REYNOLDS
ANCHOR BRICE SANDER

A Consumer Reports study released Wednesday says it found “worrisome levels of arsenic” in rice. NBC has more on what the findings could mean for rice consumers.

“These are moderate to moderately high levels of arsenic. It’s unclear whether the amount found in rice would have any health impact, but high enough levels overtime could lead to several types of cancer.”

So — why did Consumer Reports decide to look at rice?  Huffington Post says...

“...probably because rice is grown in water-flooded conditions and absorbs arsenic from the soil and water. And arsenic is present on a lot of soil. Residues from decades of lead-arsenate insecticide use linger, even though their use was banned in the 1980s.”

This Consumer Reports chart shows all the different ways arsenic could end up in rice...including, growing conditions, the genes of the rice, and soils and water with naturally occurring levels of arsenic.
The report also says “people who ate rice had arsenic levels AT LEAST 44% greater than those who had not eaten rice.”

About 200 different kinds of rice products were analyzed in the study and now many are urging the FDA to set stricter regulations on arsenic levels in food. According to the WBZ...

“The government has not determined how much total arsenic intake is safe and the FDA does not regulate the amount of arsenic in food.”

CNN spoke to an independent toxicologist who said the arsenic levels shouldn’t concern anyone.

"If we're going to eat, there's going to be arsenic in all our foods. It's found in fruits, vegetables and grains, and rice falls in the category. You've got to eat, and I think rice is a safe and nutritious food."

In 2005, scientists from Scotland’s University of Aberdeen had already found what it calls high concentrations of arsenic in U.S.-grown rice .

In its own study, the FDA is analyzing a total of about 1,200 samples of rice products by the end of the year.