Arsenic in rice--today's LA Times.
By Tiffany Hsu
September 19, 2012, 8:33 a.m.
All along the rice shelf at the grocery store, where brown and white rice sit alongside rice-based breakfast cereals, rice pastas, rice drinks and rice crackers, there’s arsenic, and often at troubling levels.
The new findings from a Consumer Reports investigation show “significant” and “worrisome” amounts of inorganic arsenic in nearly every rice product tested. The watchdog group urged consumers to scale back ingestion of rice products and asked the Food and Drug Administration to set limits.
Inorganic arsenic is a known carcinogen for humans, affecting the bladder, lungs, skin and possibly more, and is also considered a launch pad for children to future health woes. Organic arsenic is less toxic but still “of concern,” according to Consumer Reports.
Arsenic is found often in vegetables, fruits and even water. Earlier this year, the product testing organization concluded that the chemical element was rampant in many apple and grape juices.
The rest at the link:
http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-rice-arsenic-consumer-reports-20120919,0,396689.story
= new reply since forum marked as read
But yes, it absorbs all kinds of nasty stuff, much of it naturally occurring (including arsenic), but growing location and man-made environmental factors play a heavy role in the absorption of heavy metals and toxins. Not to worry - corn sucks up heavy metals and toxins rather well too, so we'll get poisoned one way or another, rest assured.
