"Inappropriate" Levels of Arsenic Found in Rice Bran

"A new study has suggested that commercial rice bran products contain "inappropriate" levels of the poisonous chemical arsenic.

Rice bran is the shavings left over after brown rice is polished to produce white rice grains.

According to a report in New Scientist, Andrew Meharg at the University of Aberdeen, UK, and colleagues made the findings.

The research team found that the levels of arsenic in rice bran products available on the Internet and used in food-aid programmes funded by the US government would be illegal in China - the only country in the world to have standards for how much arsenic is permissible in food.

Arsenic is a natural carcinogen, present in drinking water around the world including in Australia, the US and many developing countries."

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