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High Levels of Arsenic Found in Rice Sold Across the U.S.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- bryceacc 1y agolink to the actual report: https://hbbf.org/sites/default/files/2025-05/Arsenic-in-Rice-Report_May2025_R5_SECURED.pdf https://hbbf.org/sites/default/files/2025-05/Arsenic-in-Rice... This rang my "fraud" detector in my head: 1. a random .org site that sounds too much like rah rah save the children 2. spammed across many news sites and reddit and now hacker news all in a short time span but after reading the report it seems pretty good The take-away I got was buy rice grown in California, Thailand, or India. Soak beforehand if you really want to reduce bad stuff
- PaulHoule 1y agoAlso rice is a lot worse than other grains and brown rice is worse than other rice. Asian people in particular should diversify their diets. I'd note that Asian-Americans already have high PFAS levels because they use rice cookers.
- BoomerOK 1y agoDo you have a source about PFAs from rice cookers? My understanding is that Teflon in cookware, used at recommended temperatures, doesn't release PFAs. It's the Teflon manufacturing process that releases PFAs.
- wenc 1y agoTeflon rice cookers don't really release PFAS at appreciable levels. Teflon is remarkably stable (and one of the reasons it was DuPont's miracle discovery). PTFE's degradation point is 260C, but rice cookers only cook up to 100C (controlled). The only source of PTFE is if they scratch or flake off over time, but this is usually visible. Teflon cookware are more problematic in non-stick pans, where they do get heated to higher temperatures, especially for stir fries.
- PaulHoule 1y agoThis doesn't blame rice cookers but it points out a large difference https://www.mountsinai.org/about/newsroom/2023/mount-sinai-researchers-find-asian-americans-to-have-significantly-higher-exposure-to-toxic-forever-chemicals https://www.mountsinai.org/about/newsroom/2023/mount-sinai-r... These people think it might be seafood https://www.biomonitoring.ca.gov/sites/default/files/downloads/ACE_PFASs_seafood_071924.pdf https://www.biomonitoring.ca.gov/sites/default/files/downloa...
- johnea 1y agoThanks for reading the report and providing the tl;dr. Another thing that caught my eye as I scanned the article was "rice products" which is obviously not just rice, and levels exceeded for "infant rice cereal". So, it did sort of seem aimed at the market of inducing panic in new moms.
- legitster 1y agoThis would be tough to solve. As the report points out, arsenic is a naturally occuring compound. Despite what regulations you may want to pass, the solution is ultimately going to fall on the farmers in high arsenic areas to switch crops. I'd also pump the brakes on freaking out. The long-term risks of arsenic are pretty tenuous at best - nothing at all like lead.
- IAmBroom 1y ago> arsenic is a naturally occuring compound Small edit: it's an element, not a compound. Compounds can be denatured to render them harmless, or at least less harmful. Bleach left out in the sun becomes slightly salty water. Arsenic is eternally harmful.
- ohm 1y agoThere was a study done a while back on how to try to remove arsenic from rice. You essentially boil it for 5 minutes and get rid of that water first, then cook rice normally. https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-find-new-way-of-cooking-rice-that-removes-arsenic-and-retains-nutrients/ https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-find-new-way-of-cooking-...
- markoman 1y agoI'm pretty sure this would remove (i.e., nullify) the majority of its nutrients & value to consumption to begin with. We need to find ways to cleanly grow rice, on lands that aren't already contaminated with arsenic.
- IAmBroom 1y agoYou imagine that most people eat nuggets of calories for the nutrients? Which are minimal to begin with...
- tmaly 1y agoMy neighbor, a chemist, told me this years back. He had sampled US grown rice. He said arsenic was used to color chicken meat and there is runoff that gets into where rice is grown.