Monika Rajkowska-Myśliwiec, Artur Ciemniak, and Gabriela Karp measured total arsenic in 120 rice and rice products bought in Szczecin, Poland, in 2023. The paper is Foods 2024, volume 13, issue 19, article 3153. Total arsenic was determined by hydride generation coupled to inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. Inorganic arsenic was not measured. The inorganic figures in the paper are calculated as 67.7%, 72.7%, or 90% of total arsenic.
Key numbers
Concentrations are µg/kg on the purchased product. Table 5 prints one measured column, total arsenic, and three calculated inorganic columns. The footnote states that the calculations assumed inorganic arsenic shares of 67.7%, 72.7%, and 90% of total arsenic. Letters a, b, and c mark differences between product groups (Duncan test, p < 0.05). Where the printed table uses a dash between the minimum and the maximum, this page writes “to”.
| Product (n) | Total arsenic, mean ± SD (min to max), µg/kg | Calculated inorganic arsenic at 67.7% of total arsenic | Calculated inorganic arsenic at 72.7% of total arsenic | Calculated inorganic arsenic at 90% of total arsenic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| white rice (30) | 104.3 a ± 19.6 (69.5 to 145.3) | 70.6 a ± 13.3 (47.0 to 98.3) | 75.8 a ± 14.2 (50.5 to 105.6) | 93.9 a ± 17.6 (62.5 to 130.7) |
| brown rice (30) | 168.1 b ± 34.8 (87.6 to 224.7) | 113.8 b ± 23.5 (59.3 to 152.1) | 122.2 b ± 25.3 (63.7 to 163.3) | 151.3 b ± 31.3 (78.9 to 202.2) |
| rice cakes (30) | 118.3 a ± 17.0 (79.0 to 150.3) | 80.1 a ± 11.5 (53.6 to 101.8) | 86.0 a ± 12.4 (57.6 to 109.3) | 106.5 a ± 15.3 (71.3 to 135.3) |
| rice noodles (30) | 151.0 c ± 37.6 (90.6 to 227.8) | 102.3 c ± 25.5 (61.3 to 154.2) | 109.8 c ± 27.4 (65.8 to 165.6) | 135.9 c ± 33.8 (81.5 to 205.0) |
| all products (120) | 135.4 ± 38.1 (69.5 to 227.8) | 91.7 ± 25.8 (47.0 to 154.2) | 98.5 ± 27.7 (50.5 to 165.6) | 121.9 ± 34.3 (62.5 to 205.0) |
Certified reference material NIST SRM 1568a rice flour returned 0.30 ± 0.02 µg/g against the reference value 0.29 ± 0.03 µg/g. Recovery was 103%. The limit of detection was 0.3 µg/kg.
Methods (brief)
The four groups were white rice, brown rice, rice cakes, and rice noodles. Each group had 30 packages: five packages from each of six manufacturers, differing in batch number or expiration date. Stores were randomly selected in Szczecin in 2023. Sampling followed Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/705. About 0.250 g of homogenized product was digested with 6 mL of 65% nitric acid in a CEM MDS-2000 microwave system and made up to 25.000 ± 0.150 g. Arsenic was read by hydride generation on a Jobin Yvon JY-24 sequential ICP spectrometer. The operating table lists one analytical line, arsenic at 193.759 nm. The detection limit is three times the standard deviation of ten blank measurements.
Evidence fitness
The total arsenic means, standard deviations, and ranges describe these four product groups as sold on the Polish retail market in 2023. The inorganic columns do not describe a measured inorganic arsenic result. No other element was determined. Infants and young children appear only as exposure scenarios. No baby cereal and no fish were tested.
Limitations
Label origins include Pakistan, Italy, Myanmar, Paraguay, Thailand, Vietnam, and packages marked not specified. Those are growing origins. The purchase market is Szczecin in 2023. The aim sentence says the study would determine inorganic arsenic, but the method describes only total arsenic by hydride generation. The 67.7%, 72.7%, and 90% shares are assumptions taken from earlier papers and from the authors’ appendix mean of 72.7%.
Related evidence
- Arsenic, Total
- Arsenic
- Rice
- Rice (white, brown, wild — bulk grain)
- Rice snacks/crackers
- Rice noodles
Update history
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