Arsenic in your food: potential health hazards from arsenic found in rice

• Main Authors: Munera-Picazo S, Cano-Lamadrid M, Castaño-Iglesias MC, Burló F, Carbonell-Barrachina ÁA
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2015-01-01
• Series: Nutrition and Dietary Supplements
• Online Access: http://www.dovepress.com/arsenic-in-your-food-potential-health-hazards-from-arsenic-found-in-ri-peer-reviewed-article-NDS

Sandra Munera-Picazo,1 Marina Cano-Lamadrid,1 María Concepción Castaño-Iglesias,2 Francisco Burló,1 Ángel A Carbonell-Barrachina11Food Quality and Safety Group, Department of Agro-Food Technology, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Orihuela, 2Servicio de Pediatría, Hospital Universitario San Juan de Alicante, Alicante, SpainAbstract: Rice is a staple food for over half of the world population, but there is some concern about the occurrence of arsenic (As) in this cereal and the possible overexposure to this metalloid. Recently, the Codex Alimentarius Commission established a maximum limit of 200 µg kg–1 for inorganic arsenic (iAs) in rice. Because the maximum content of As in water has been reduced to 10 µg L–1, intoxication through rice and rice-based products can be considered an important source of As poisoning. The chronic effects of this iAs exposure can be lung and bladder cancer, skin lesions, or other noncarcinogenic diseases. There is clear evidence of high levels of iAs in rice and rice-based products. Different solutions for the reduction of As intake are proposed at different levels: 1) during the plant-growing process through agronomic practices, 2) pretreatment of rice before its use in the food industry, 3) optimization of the conditions of unit operations during processing, and 4) by cooking.Keywords: arsenic speciation, food safety, dietary exposure, Oryza sativa