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Preliminary results of a large study by the U.S. government and research by a non-profit organization show measurable amounts of arsenic in samples of rice and rice products for sale in U.S. markets. One form of the chemical, inorganic arsenic, is a known human carcinogen. While the private study cautions that people should limit their consumption of rice products, government scientists say they are making no recommendations until their study is complete, sometime next year. Two hundred different types of rice and rice products tested by both the non-profit research group, Consumer Reports, and the US Food and Drug Administration [FDA], contained varying levels of different forms of arsenic. Michael Taylor is the Deputy Commissioner for Foods at the FDA. “Arsenic is a substance that nobody wants in food, but we are confident that at the levels that we are seeing, there is no immediate safety concern. People should continue eating rice,” said Taylor. The US government has standards for the amount of arsenic allowed in water for human consumption, but not for food. Taylor says the FDA is mainly concerned with cumulative lifetime exposure to arsenic. “We don’ think, based on the preliminary information that we have, that we can recommend that consumers change their eating practices. Rice is an important staple of the diet. It’s a nutritious, healthy food," said Taylor. "I think we would want to be sure we have much more information before we make decisions about recommending changes in eating patterns.” | 
