Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Arsenic rice -do you eat it daily ?

Journal Environmental Science and Technology has information about the arsenic content in rice grown in US.check this link for more info.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/foodsafety/arsenic080405.cfm

Britain’s Food Standards Agency said a study is looking at the amount of arsenic in rice eaten in the UK and how it might be affected by cooking. But it urged British consumers not to panic.Researchers analysed 107 samples of long grain rice from the south central region of the US, including Arkan-sas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Missouri and Texas.Professor Andy Meharg of Aberdeen University said they found three to five times more arsenic in that region than was found in other rice producing countries, such as India and China.“We know if you are exposed to even low levels over a decade, your risk of cancer will increase,” he said. “We are far more health-conscious about what we are eating nowadays and we know arsenic is carcinogenic.” Prof Meharg said the increased arsenic levels in south-central American rice could be caused by pesticides which were used on the cotton fields and had remained in the soil.

People are more concerned about pointing out heavy metal toxicity in Ayurvedic medicines while they have excess of arsenic in rice which is food -staple food.What do we do ?

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