A study recently published in JAMA Pediatrics suggests that rice cereal and rice snacks may not be good for infants' health because the foods contain high levels of arsenic.
The study shows that infants eating rice snacks and particularly rice cereal had much higher levels of arsenic in their urine samples (up to 9.53 µg/L) than those who did not eat any rice products (2.85 µg/L).
Rice products are popular because no one is known to be allergic to rice. However, rice and some other foods/beverages like imported apple juice are known to contain higher concentrations of arsenic than other foods.
Arsenic is a known carcinogen that can induce cardiovascular disease, compromised immunity against infections and negative impacts on neurological development in young children. Studies indicate that exposure to arsenic could lower IQ in children and neurological diseases in late adulthood.
News reports say that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recently proposed guidelines for rice producers to limit the amount of inorganic arsenic in rice products to 100 parts per billion (ppb), which has been the European limit in rice products. The study finds that arsenic in rice snacks can contain up to 568 ppb of arsenic. (David Liu)
