Researchers find high levels of arsenic

It sounds almost bizarre, but researchers looking at baby rice which is for sale in any British supermarket have found that one in three packets contains an unsafe level of arsenic. The inorganic arsenic may come from pesticides used for cotton production in countries which also produce rice. The rice absorbs the arsenic from the water it grows in.

Prof Andrew Meharg from Aberdeen University said: 'I don't want to give out nutritional advice to the public, but as a parent I would try to reduce my baby's exposure to any contamination.' Professor Meharq and his colleagues also found higher levels of arsenic in other rice-based foods such as rice milk and puffed rice cereals.

A spokesperson for the Food Standards Agency responded to the research saying: 'The FSA has conducted a number of surveys of arsenic in weaning foods and formulae. These show that the low intakes of arsenic from infant foods have not increased, indicating that they are as low as reasonably practicable. The measured levels do not raise concerns for the health of infants.'

But Professor Meharq believes the FSA is out-of-date in its reporting. ''We are talking about a carcinogen that could be reduced in baby foods. Thirty-five per cent of the baby food we analysed had levels of inorganic arsenic that would make them illegal in China. Our regulations are totally outdated and need to be re-visited.'

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