WASHINGTON
(AP) -- The Food and Drug Administration may consider new standards for
the levels of arsenic in rice as consumer groups are calling for federal
guidance on how much of the carcinogen can be present in food.
So
far, FDA officials say they have found no evidence that suggests rice
is unsafe to eat. The agency has studied the issue for decades but is in
the middle of conducting a new study of 1,200 samples of grocery-store
rice products - short and long-grain rice, adult and baby cereals,
drinks and even rice cakes - to measure arsenic levels.
Arsenic
is thought to be found in rice in higher levels than most other foods
because it is grown in water on the ground, optimal conditions for the
contaminant to be absorbed in the rice. There are no federal standards
for how much arsenic is allowed in food.
Arsenic
is naturally present in water, air, food and soil in two forms, organic
and inorganic. According to the FDA, organic arsenic passes through the
body quickly and is essentially harmless. Inorganic arsenic - the type
found in some pesticides and insecticides - can be toxic and may pose a
cancer risk if consumed at high levels or over a long period.
How
much organic and inorganic arsenic rice eaters are consuming, and
whether those levels are dangerous, still remains to be seen.
FDA
Commissioner Margaret Hamburg says consumers shouldn't stop eating
rice, though she does encourage a diverse diet just in case.
"Our
advice right now is that consumers should continue to eat a balanced
diet that includes a wide variety of grains - not only for good
nutrition but also to minimize any potential consequences from consuming
any one particular food," she said.
The
agency on Wednesday released 200 of an expected 1,200 samples after the
magazine Consumer Reports released its own study and called for federal
standards for arsenic in rice. The FDA will not complete its study until
the end of the year, Hamburg said, and cannot draw any conclusions from
the results until then.
Both studies show
relatively similar levels of arsenic in rice. The FDA's analysis,
including 200 samples, showed average levels of 3.5 to 6.7 micrograms of
inorganic arsenic per serving. Consumer Reports, with 223 samples,
found levels up to 8.7 micrograms. A microgram is one billionth of a
kilogram.
It is almost impossible to say how
dangerous these levels are without a benchmark from the federal
government. Consumer Reports uses New Jersey's drinking water standard -
a maximum of 5 micrograms in a liter of water - as comparison because
it is one of the strictest in the country. But it is unclear how
accurate it is to compare arsenic levels in water and arsenic levels in
rice - most people consume more water than rice, so drinking water
standards may need to be tougher.
It is because of this uncertainty that consumer groups have urged the FDA to set a standard.
Urvashi
Rangan of Consumer Reports says the group is not trying to alarm rice
eaters and parents feeding their children rice, but to educate them so
they can diversify their diets. Consumers should be more protected since
arsenic is a known carcinogen, she said.
"It doesn't make sense not to have standards for rice," she said.
The
Consumer Reports study found higher levels of arsenic in brown rice
than white rice, a result of how the two different types are processed.
It also found higher levels in rice produced in southern U.S. states
than in rice from California or Asia.
Rice
growers jumped on the report. A statement from the industry group USA
Rice Federation said that U.S. rice growers do not use arsenical
pesticides.
"We understand that `arsenic' is
an alarming word, but we believe it is important for consumers to know
that arsenic is a naturally occurring element in our air, water, rocks
and soil," the group said in a statement. "This is how plants uptake
arsenic. As a result, it's always been in the food supply and is in many
healthy foods that are consumed by billions of people every day."
Illinois
Attorney General Lisa Madigan joined with Consumer Reports Wednesday,
also calling on FDA to set standards, particularly for baby food. She,
like the magazine, urged parents to limit the amount of rice they feed
their children.
The FDA was not willing to go
that far, however. Hamburg cautioned that neither the FDA nor Consumer
Reports had tested enough samples to be certain of any trend.
"These are very few samples and there is great variability in the levels," she said.
Scientists
have known for decades that arsenic is present in rice, but the issue
has renewed interest as consumers are more interested than ever in what
they eat and technology has advanced to the point that inorganic and
organic arsenic can be measured separately.
The
consumer group's push on arsenic in rice comes a year after it
pressured the FDA to define standards for arsenic in apple juice.
Michael Taylor, the FDA's deputy commissioner for foods, said Tuesday
that the agency had completed an assessment on apple juice and would be
making recommendations soon. The levels of arsenic found in apple juice
are low, he said.
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
