LOS ANGELES — Worrisome levels of arsenic have been found in two infant formulas that contain organic brown rice syrup as a main ingredient, researchers reported Thursday. Arsenic was also found in some cereal bars that contain organic brown rice syrup.
The toxic element is a known contaminate found in rice because the crop absorbs arsenic from soil. According to the authors of the study, from Dartmouth College, the type found in the food products has been identified as a human carcinogen. Arsenic can also cause skin, lung and intestinal irritation as well as miscarriage and infertility.
The paper, published online in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, found arsenic in two of 17 infant formulas tested. One sample had an arsenic concentration six times the federal limit for arsenic allowable in bottled water or drinking water. In infants, such a level could be toxic because they consume more per pound of body weight compared with adults.
Among 29 cereal bars tested, those containing syrup or other forms of rice had arsenic levels two to 12 times higher than the allowable limit.
There are no regulations for arsenic in food, said the authors, led by Brian Jackson of Dartmouth’s Superfund Research Program. The need for such regulations is “urgent,” they said. Legislation was introduced in Congress last week to establish limits for arsenic and lead in fruit juice.
In the meantime, parents may want to avoid infant formula containing brown rice syrup as the main ingredient, Jackson said. Formulas containing added rice starch did not contain arsenic, the study showed. Consumers should limit their consumption of other foods known to contain arsenic.
“Among 29 cereal bars tested, those containing syrup or other forms of rice had arsenic levels two to 12 times higher than the allowable limit.” Wait, what?!? What is the allowed limit??! I hope the babies using these formulas are alright..
I’m not sure what it is in the cereal bars but when I had my well tested they said something about the allowable limit being 10, mine was like 12 or something.
I’m wondering how an “organic” ingredient could have so much arsenic. I’m also wondering how much of this ingredient is imported and how much is domestically produced.
The toxic element is a known contaminate found in rice because the crop absorbs arsenic from soil.
I’m just wondering if it’s normal for soil to have such a high level of naturally-occurring arsenic.
It may not be naturally-occurring. Arsenic-based pesticides were used heavily on crops several decades ago. Those residues could be the source of the arsenic.
If that’s the case I guess the rules about using the “organic” word need some changing.
There is some major irony here. What could sound nicer that “Organic Brown Rice Syrup?” Its got all the catch words. Yet this has “high” levels of a toxin – much higher than what is the allowed level in the US for drinking water. What is never said is that people consume a great deal more drinking water than any particular food. The old saying, “the dose makes the poison” is apt here. Are these doses actually problematic? Caffeine is toxic at some dose (actually much lower than most pesticides). Does that mean we should never consume it in coffee, tea etc? All of this needs to be put into a dose-related perspective. For infants it might actually be an issue, but I have yet to see an analysis that addresses this rationally
Its like the cyanide in apple seeds and peach pits. Is this a serious problem or are we just pretending that it is.
Could Rice be high in arsenic due to the fact that it is grown in water? Im thinking that might be one of the reasons.
A lot of irrigation water is delivered through open canals and ditches. The irrigation district might have nice test reports but it’s sampled at the source. Anybody growing organic products needs to test their water if it’s coming in that way.
Anyone growing anything for consumption needs to test. Do you think it would be OK to have contaminates in food as long as it’s not labeled organic? We’re not talking about something you can wash off before eating.
Considering caffeine is not a carcinogen and arsenic is I would say that there is a huge difference between coffee and arsenic in baby formula. The problem isn’t the dosage required to be deadly, the problem is that any amount is problematic, especially so in infant formula.
Legislation setting a limit on arsenic and lead was introduced in Congress, according to the article, on FRUIT JUICE. The arsenic is in INFANT FORMULA. Hopefully, this was a reporting error. Also, it would be very troubling if Republicans tried to stop a bill that limits arsenic claiming it would be “over-regulation”. But they have disappointed before (a lot).
A google search turned up this little gem. It seems that the majority of American rice is grown in the south, much of it in old cotton fields where arsenic-based compounds were used for decades as pesticides and defoliants. It is in the ground and taken up by the rice plant from the water that surrounds it.
http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=07-P13-00012&segmentID=2
“Brown rice syrup” is simply the substitute for “high fructose corn syrup”, necessary to fool the consumer into thinking he is doing something better for his child.
Gool old FDA and USDA regs.
The FDA and the USDA are not interested so much in consumer saftey as they are in ensuring corporate profits. In fact they and their researce are primarily funded by the corporations they are supposed to protect the consumer from.
Also because the corporations have so much influence in defining organic, organic doesn’t mean much, especially concerning the food industry. Get your food from local growers, support local agriculture, you can see how the food is grown.
Poison in, poison out. No way to eliminate the final chemical products of old pesticides. DDT, for example, has degraded to DDE, its final metabolite, which is also toxic to wildlife and us.
Eagles in national parks have to be fed with domestic animal carcasses because so much wildlife that eagles (for one) eat would still cause them to have weak, unviable eggs because of toxins in their prey.
First, we stop toxic chemicals from getting into our air and water, hence into wildlife and us. Then, we figure out how to do some clean-up, understanding that some of these poisons will be with us forever.
Greed. Gluttony. It’s never enough for the big money boys. No risk to us regular people is too great for them to take – but they live here, too. How stupid are they?
How about breast-feeding babies? This is still the safest and healthiest food for babies.
Ah, but then chemical companies wouldn’t have so much profit from feeding our babies poison formula. NO formula is equal to mothers’ breast milk.