Cereals for babies, tests have found high levels of arsenic in rice ones sold in the US
Don't store avocado like this: it's dangerousCereals for babies, tests have found high levels of arsenic in rice ones sold in the US
The Food and Drug Administration announced a voluntary recall of a baby rice cream after the state of Alaska discovered samples that contained arsenic levels in excess of 100 parts per billion, exceeding the permitted level for this type of product.
The company that produced them, Beech-Nut, also announced the exit from the baby rice cereal market because it "worried about the ability to consistently obtain rice flour with arsenic levels well below the level of FDA guide ".
The Environmental Working Group welcomes this action to protect children from toxic exposures, but is also urging the FDA to accelerate its plans to set limits for arsenic in all baby and baby foods, not just rice creams. for babies.
"Today's action demonstrates the need for enforceable regulations for toxic metals in all baby food, not just baby rice cereals," said Scott Faber, senior vice president of government affairs. by EWG.
The FDA and the World Health Organization say that even low levels of exposure to heavy metals such as arsenic can cause serious and often irreversible damage to children's brains.
Several brands of widely sold baby food have recently been found contaminated with dangerous levels of toxic heavy metals, including arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury, according to an investigation by a White House subcommittee.
Parents should avoid purchasing baby foods that contain ingredients that are high in toxic heavy metals, such as rice-based products. EWG recommends that people limit the amount of rice and find alternatives to processed rice-based foods.
Fortunately, in Europe we have instead a greater attention to the problem. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has been considering the problem of inorganic arsenic in food and drinking water for years and has indicated the limit value considered safe for the intake of inorganic arsenic: 0,3- 8 micrograms per pound of body weight per day.
Read here and here the opinion of EFSA on arsenic in food.
Fonte: EWG, Beechnut
Read also:
Arsenic in Rice: Should You Worry?
