Cooking rice using percolating technology is an ideal method for removing arsenic, according to a study published in PLOS ONE.
In the study, researchers tested two methods of percolation on rice. In the first, which took place in a lab setting, cooking water was recycled by condensing boiling-water steam and passing the distilled hot water through the rice. In the second, which took place in a domestic setting, researchers used tap water to cook rice that was held in a store-bought coffee percolator. Both methods removed up to 85% of arsenic from a variety of rice types and brands.
“In our research we rethought the method of rice cooking to optimize the removal of inorganic arsenic and we discovered that by using percolating technology, where cooking water is continually passed through rice in a constant flow, we could maximize removal of arsenic,” said Andy Meharg, professor of plant and soil sciences at Queen’s University Belfast’s Institute for Global Food Security.
Because rice is grown underwater, it absorbs inorganic arsenic normally locked up in soil, meaning it can contain 10 times as much arsenic as other foods. A carcinogen, arsenic creates health problems, including bladder and lung cancer, and can affect children and infants particularly badly, as their organs are still developing. Additionally, people who eat more rice on the whole, including those living in parts of the developing world, are exposed to increased concentrations of arsenic.
