Arsenic and other metals in rice

Rice is a staple food for tens of millions of people around the globe. It can accumulate hazardous levels of toxicants (e.g. arsenic) when soil or irrigation water get contaminated with such pollutants. Thirty seven rice and rice-product samples were collected from local markets in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and Australia and analysed for arsenic and other metals. Some samples contained at least one metal in excess of the prescribed Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL). A Bangladeshi sample (0.304 mg/kg) and two USA samples (0.198 and 0.180 mg/kg, both sold in KSA) exceeded the MCL set for arsenic (0.150 mg/kg).