If the phrase "You are what you eat" is true, then we may not know as much about ourselves as we'd like to believe.
We say this in light of the Food and Drug Administration's Friday release of the results of a study that measured arsenic levels in 1,300 samples of rice and rice products from both the United States and Asia.
Why rice, and why arsenic? The crop more easily absorbs the carcinogen because it's grown in water on the ground, according to an Associated Press article about the study.
While organic arsenic is believed to be more or less harmless, inorganic arsenic is found in some pesticides and insecticides and may cause cancer if consumed at high levels or during a long period of time.
The FDA found that of all the rice products it studied, brown rice had the highest levels of arsenic, while instant rice had the least. Rice-based infant cereals and formulas also contained relatively low amounts.
The agency said rice is still safe to eat, and there aren't any concerns of short-term health effects, because the arsenic levels in question are so low.
It pledged to continue studying the long-term effects of rice consumption on the human body. But in the meantime, it advised, people should eat a variety of different foods to avoid potential overexposure to the element.
You know, just in case.
The FDA, National Institutes of Health and Environmental Protection Agency could find in a planned risk assessment that a lifetime of rice consumption is akin to playing Russian roulette.
We doubt it (the Japanese, major consumers of rice, have one of the highest life expectancies in the world), but the FDA's current message of "wait and see" doesn't exactly inspire confidence.
Advocacy group Consumer Reports wants the agency to set standards so people know exactly how much arsenic is too much when it comes to the rice they eat. That's a logical step. We hope the FDA is considering it, once additional studies have been completed.
It's a lot more helpful than the current "maybe, maybe not" message consumers are receiving.
