These are toxic values within the maximum allowed in food, but the OCU warns that they could be dangerous in the long term for those who habitually base their diet on this cereal
The Organization of Consumers and Users has detected small amounts of arsenic in some brands of rice or derivatives of this cereal for sale in Spanish shops, especially in the variety of brown rice and in pancakes.
The concentration of the toxin detected in the food is in all cases below the permitted legal limits, which is why the consumer organization itself considers that it is not a cause for alarm, but it does clarify that the values located could be excessive at long-term for the minority of citizens who make an intensive intake of rice and its derivatives for having this food as a fundamental basis of their daily diet.
The OCU investigation is based on the analysis that its technicians carried out on 136 samples of all kinds of rice and some derivatives such as pancakes, noodles, drinks, breakfast cereals and cereal porridge and children’s jars to check their arsenic content. , a poison that accumulates in the soil or irrigation water during agricultural and industrial activities. No presence of this poison was found in drinks and children’s jars, but it was found in the rest of presentations, especially in brown rice -with an average of 131 micrograms per kilo of product- and in rice cakes -with 139 micrograms per kilo-, and to a lesser extent white rice and breakfast cereals.
The organization understands that in all cases there are toxic amounts that allow safe consumption, as they would be far from exceeding the European maximum of 0.3 micrograms per kilogram of body per day. The study gives an example so that it is understood that the alarm is not justified. An adult weighing 75 kilos could take every day of her life 171 grams of brown rice or 162 grams of pancakes with the concentrations detected without having any health problem. This, they clarify, is unlikely, since even those who use rice as their main dish do not usually consume more than 100 grams a day and the authorized pancakes would be between 16 and 23 per day.
Do not abuse the porridge
However, OCU, in view of the detected presence of arsenic, gives two pieces of advice. One for the general public. That they have varied diets that avoid permanent abuse of the ingestion of rice and its derivatives, which will leave them free of all risk. The second is for parents and caregivers of babies, who have to be especially careful to vary their children’s diet and not abuse instant cereal porridge with rice. The amount of arsenic detected in some of these products (42 micrograms per kilo) is not a dangerous amount, but it could exceed the safe limit if a child of about six months (about eight kilos) regularly eats two servings a day of this product. Parents will be calm, says OCU, alternate these porridges with vegetable purees and fruit compotes.
Intensive and prolonged consumption of inorganic arsenic over time can accumulate risk amounts in the body, which could cause, according to OCU, skin lesions, diabetes, cardiovascular disorders and even some types of cancer, among other diseases. The organization considers the maximum limits of this toxin that the EU allows in food to be adequate, but demands frequent controls and the improvement of sample analysis systems for the peace of mind and safety of consumers.
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