New research supported by IAFNS Food Chemical Safety Committee suggests that the most effective treatments for reducing levels of the toxic metal arsenic in rice include cultivar selection, irrigation management, and farmer application of selenium or silicon soil amendments.
Of the mitigation methods reviewed in the new paper, water management techniques were found to be the most promising in limiting arsenic concentrations in rice. Farmers adding soil amendments like selenium and silicon to rice fields were found to be effective at reducing arsenic in rice as well.
Long-term exposure to high levels of arsenic can lead to skin disease and even cancer, making addressing arsenic in rice an important public health issue.
The irrigation management strategies examined in the study include sprinkler irrigation, alternate wetting and drying, furrow irrigation, aerobic cultivation, and rainfed irrigation. The studies reviewed by the IAFNS- and USDA-supported research team found that irrigation methods with dry periods lowered total grain arsenic anywhere from 10 to 98% in rice when compared to continuous flooding — a common way to grow rice. However, one drawback of alternating wet and dry periods when cultivating rice is higher cadmium concentrations — another toxic heavy metal — in some soils because it is most bioavailable under dry conditions.
But steps to reduce arsenic are not limited to farmers and processors. Home cooks can take action too. For example, cooking methods that involve briefly parboiling rice before cooking and then discarding the parboiled water lowered levels of arsenic up to 83%, according to the study.
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