WASHINGTON, DC—Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) responded today to new Consumer Reports guidelines on how much rice is safe for consumption. This builds on a previous report revealing alarmingly high levels of arsenic in rice and rice-based products, such as cereal.

The guidelines are meant to help adults and children reduce their exposure to arsenic without eliminating rice. They include limiting consumption of hot rice cereal or rice pasta by children and recommending children under five not replace milk with rice drinks. Consumer Reports also released an analysis showing that the inorganic arsenic content of rice varies greatly by the type of rice and where it was grown.

“The fact that high levels of inorganic arsenic, a known carcinogen, are present in rice, cereal and other everyday foods is outrageous. I applaud Consumer Reports for doing such important research and developing the new consumption guidelines to help us all make safer, more informed choices.

“I wholeheartedly agree with Consumer Union’s call for the Food and Drug Administration to address the risks we face from arsenic in our rice and other grains. This is not the first time we have been alerted to the dangers of arsenic, and the bottom line remains that the federal government simply must to more to ensure our food supply is safe. We have an obligation to every American family, especially our children, to do so.”

In 2012, DeLauro introduced The R.I.C.E (Reducing food-based Inorganic and organic Compounds Exposure Act) Act which would require the Food and Drug Administration to set a maximum permissible level of arsenic in rice and food containing rice. DeLauro plans to introduce a similar bill in the 114th Congress.


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