At the request of Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-CT, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has returned to the problem of managing the risk of arsenic in rice. The GAO is an agency in the legislative branch of the federal government that provides auditing, evaluation and investigative services for Congress
Arsenic, a natural element in…
Infant rice cereals are popular with parents because they are affordable, easy to digest, and unlikely to cause allergic reactions. Infants typically begin eating cereals when they are between 4 and 6 months old.
But, rice absorbs more…
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced a bill in Congress on Thursday which would limit the amount of inorganic arsenic permitted in rice and rice-based foods. The R.I.C.E (Reducing food-based Inorganic Compounds Exposure) Act would require the Food and Drug Administration to set a maximum permissible level of inorganic arsenic in rice and food containing rice.…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Wednesday that it has received a letter of commitment from Zoetis Animal Health that, by this coming fall, the company will suspend the sale of Histostat (nitarsone) and formally request that FDA withdraw approval for the drug by the end of the year. 
Nitarsone is the only…
A lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court claims that some California wines tested for inorganic arsenic contain higher-than-allowable levels. The complaint lists four individual plaintiffs and names as defendants Trader Joe’s, which sells some of the wines that were tested, and about two dozen California wineries, including some well-known names such as…
Despite being the number-one producer and consumer of rice in the world, more Chinese citizens are buying rice imported from Japan and elsewhere due to fears about heavy metals and other toxins, according to Reuters. While the amount of rice imported to China from Japan in 2014 is still extremely small, it was triple…
Consumer Reports (CR) today issued new consumption guidelines for inorganic arsenic (IA) in rice and other grains. While past reports on the subject by CR and others have been complex and academic, this one is consumer friendly. CR says its new guidelines were developed in response to consumer questions after its 2012 study found measurable…
At the its annual meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, last week, the Codex Alimentarius Commission adopted a number of new standards, including maximum acceptable levels of lead in infant formula and of arsenic in rice. 
The commission was established in 1963 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health…
Laboratory tests on Washington state’s exotic shellfish export, the geoduck clam, have found no evidence of unsafe or excessive levels of arsenic, rebutting claims made by Chinese food safety authorities that followed a sudden ban placed on U.S. shellfish from the West Coast. The ban has already devastated shellfish growers in Washington, Alaska, Oregon and…
China has suspended imports of shellfish from the West Coast of the United States after finding high levels of arsenic and a toxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning in recent shipments of geoduck clams from Northwest waters. The indefinite ban affects clams, oysters and all other two-shelled bivalves harvested off the coast of Washington, Oregon,…
The Food and Drug Administration responded Monday to a four-year-old petition from the Center for Food Safety and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, stating that the agency was in the process of formally withdrawing approval for the use of arsenic-based drugs in animal feed. The letter states that sponsors of three of the…
