Rice finding 150
Source evidence and comparison details for the Rice profile.
Local Hassawi rice · Total arsenic (tAs) · 9 rice samples.
Selected finding and reference
Basis: Ground uncooked grain; moisture basis unspecified. Results near method detection limits require caution, especially Hg. Displayed means do not assert every sample was detected.
HMI baseline position
Low · HMI uncooked-grain tAs reference · 16 sampling families. Mean as reported: 69 µg/kg. HMI median 139–140 (bounded); Q1 110; Q3 230 µg/kg. 16 families. Not a safety grade.
Low is below Q1; Moderate includes Q1 through Q3; High is above Q3. Reporting bounds must give the same category throughout.
This finding’s sampling family contributes to the fixed reference.
Sensitivity to weighting
Equal subgroup weight within each family: Low. The position is unchanged under this alternative. This check does not address all sampling, rounding or analytical uncertainty.
Sensitivity to source selection
- Without Alrashdi et al. (2024): Low.
- Without WHO GEMS/Food: Low.
- Without Authors 2016: Low.
- Without Clair-Caliot et al. 2021: Low.
- Without EFSA 2009: Low.
- Without Gama et al. 2025: Low.
- Without Implications 2023: Low.
- Without Limmer et al. 2026: Low.
- Without Liu et al. 2022: Low.
- Without Lockwood et al. 2023: Low.
- Without A.A. et al. 2008: Low.
- Without Moreda-Pineiro et al. 2020: Low.
- Without Sim et al. 2024: Low.
- Without U.S. 2021: Low.
- Without Zavala et al. 2008: Low.
- Without Wheat et al. 2024: Low.
These checks show dependence on each sampling family; they are not confidence intervals.
Collection period
Collection period not reported
No year-by-year sample register is reconstructed from this summary.
Geographic scope
Saudi Arabia
Riyadh imports and Al-Ahsa local grain.
Sampling, analysis and reporting limits
HPLC-ICP-MS for iAs; ICP-MS for totals.
Results near method detection limits require caution, especially Hg. Displayed means do not assert every sample was detected.
Market imports span several countries and rice forms. No origin ranking or cooking conversion. SD definitions are not generalized from analytical replicates.
Shared samples and study overlap
24 imported and nine local samples; analyte rows reuse the same samples.
Each table row describes a food/analyte result. Repeated rows do not add independent samples or datasets. No cross-study trend is calculated in this comparison mode.
Reported values, conversion and source locator
| Source statistic | Original result | Displayed unit conversion |
|---|---|---|
| mean | 69 µg/kg (mean) | No conversion |
Samples analysed; T-As, i-As, Cd, Pb and Hg concentration in rice; Table 5.
No moisture, cooking-yield or species conversion is applied to the original finding above. Any basis conversion used for its HMI comparison is stated separately with the numerical target.
Open the primary publication · HMI source record
Reference and scope
HMI uncooked-grain tAs reference · 16 sampling families. Uncooked grain as analysed (native or unstated moisture), µg/kg. Distribution of subgroup median concentration values.
| Reference (µg/kg) | Q1 | Median | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary HMI reference | 110 | 139–140 (bounded) | 230 |
| Alternative weighting | 110 | 139–140 (bounded) | 230 |
102 reference units; 16 sampling families. Counts describe evidence units, not independent studies or certainty.
| Contributing family | Reference units | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Alrashdi et al. (2024) | 6 | 6% |
| WHO GEMS/Food | 49 | 6% |
| Authors 2016 | 3 | 6% |
| Clair-Caliot et al. 2021 | 1 | 6% |
| EFSA 2009 | 2 | 6% |
| Gama et al. 2025 | 1 | 6% |
| Implications 2023 | 11 | 6% |
| Limmer et al. 2026 | 1 | 6% |
| Liu et al. 2022 | 2 | 6% |
| Lockwood et al. 2023 | 11 | 6% |
| A.A. et al. 2008 | 5 | 6% |
| Moreda-Pineiro et al. 2020 | 3 | 6% |
| Sim et al. 2024 | 1 | 6% |
| U.S. 2021 | 2 | 6% |
| Zavala et al. 2008 | 3 | 6% |
| Wheat et al. 2024 | 1 | 6% |
Methods
HMI calculates a pooled distribution of subgroup medians across the admitted sampling families. HMI pools subgroup medians from every compatible rice sampling family in the evidence ledger for this analyte, material and basis: published subgroup medians, medians HMI calculates from printed per-sample values and WHO GEMS/Food region-by-year medians (random sampling only). Each family has equal total weight; subgroups have equal weight within a family. Non-detects stay as zero-to-limit intervals, so quartiles carry lower and upper bounds. Means, ranges and maxima never enter as observations. Dry-weight, native-moisture and cooked results are kept in separate references; no moisture conversion is assumed.
Inverse weighted empirical CDF; midpoint at exact cumulative-weight boundaries. At least four reference units and a definitely positive Q1–Q3 spread are required. This is a display eligibility rule, not statistical validation.
Limitations
An evidence-library reference, not a probability sample of the world rice market. Sampling families differ in frame (retail, farm, contaminated sites, monitoring) and period; GEMS/Food regions are reporting regions, not growing origins. Many submissions are non-detects with differing limits, which widens the bounds. A position is descriptive concentration, not a safety or compliance judgment.
Admitted source families
- Alrashdi et al. (2024)
- WHO GEMS/Food
- Authors 2016
- Clair-Caliot et al. 2021
- EFSA 2009
- Gama et al. 2025
- Implications 2023
- Limmer et al. 2026
- Liu et al. 2022
- Lockwood et al. 2023
- A.A. et al. 2008
- Moreda-Pineiro et al. 2020
- Sim et al. 2024
- U.S. 2021
- Zavala et al. 2008
- Wheat et al. 2024
Reference version and interpretation
Frozen evidence selection: 2026-10-22. Method: hmi-pooled-reference-v2.
hmi-pooled-reference-v2:rice-native-tAs:1784506f9277
The reference is computed by HMI from admitted evidence, not copied from a study baseline. It describes the evidence currently in this scope; it is not a worldwide or current-lot benchmark. Source, year and region filters do not change it. Different HMI scopes are not one common ranking.