The United States Food and Drug administration have created a new draft guidance on inorganic arsenic levels. This is due to them documenting unnaturally high levels of arsenic, a poisonous chemical which can cause neurological and development problems in infants.
Currently, the draft on inorganic arsenic levels only tackles the ones found on the rice cereals for infants and toddlers.
"The FDA is proposing a limit or "action level" of 100 parts per billion (ppb) for inorganic arsenic in infant rice cereal, which corresponds to a level proposed by the European Commission for rice destined for the production of food for infants and young children," said the FDA document.
The rice cereals are a large concern for FDA, considering that the age group consuming them may be extra vulnerable to the arsenic. Furthermore, the infants and toddlers consume a large amount of these cereals, which may endanger them in the long run.
Apart from the proposal, the agency is also trying to assess the risk of arsenic in rice and other rice products, which can be accessed in this document.
By seeking comments, the FDA will be providing the public and certain groups to suggest changes to the said draft guidance. The details on how to share your comments and let your voice be heard can easily be found in this document.
Furthermore, the document discovered that inorganic arsenic exposure in infants and pregnant women are likely to result in a child's decreased performance. This is particularly on developmental tests which specifically measures learning.
Note that the FDA also tested more than 400 foods usually eaten by infants and toddlers. The results were definitive: the arsenic levels of all non-rice foods had arsenic levels of below 100ppb, proving that other food may be fed to infants, not just rice cereals.
Rice has more inorganic cereal levels compared to other food, simply because the plant tends to absorb more of it compared to other crops.
