Rice finding 2236

Source evidence and comparison details for the Rice profile.

EFSA et al. 2021

Rice grain, type unspecified (FoodEx 'Rice, unspecified') · Inorganic arsenic (iAs) · 404 analytical results/samples of rice grain with iAs data (Table 4 sum 1,756 + 7 red rice; text states n = 1,768); 13,608 iAs results overall in food and water.

Selected finding and reference

84 µg/kg (median)Median.

404 analytical results/samples of rice grain with iAs data (Table 4 sum 1,756 + 7 red rice; text states n = 1,768); 13,608 iAs results overall in food and water. Basis: as reported to EFSA (whole/as-sold food; basis not stated, not dry-weight corrected).

UB: substitution method; LB sets <LOD/<LOQ to zero, UB sets <LOD to LOD and LOD-LOQ to LOQ (Section 2.1.2). This finding is the UB estimate.

HMI baseline position

Moderate · HMI uncooked-grain iAs reference · 10 sampling families. Median as reported: 84 µg/kg. HMI median 110; Q1 82.5–84 (bounded); Q3 150 µg/kg. 10 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: Moderate. 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 EFSA et al. 2021: Low.
Without Limmer et al. 2026: Moderate.
Without Liu et al. 2022: Moderate.
Without Moreda-Pineiro et al. 2020: Low.
Without Sim et al. 2024: Moderate.
Without Tian et al. 2024: Moderate.
Without Yan et al. (2025): Moderate.
Without Zavala et al. 2008: Moderate.

These checks show dependence on each sampling family; they are not confidence intervals.

Reference, contributing evidence and methods

Collection period

2013–2018

No year-by-year sample register is reconstructed from this summary.

Geographic scope

Rice, unspecified

Rice variety or type within one study.

Sampling, analysis and reporting limits

Various laboratory methods reported by data providers; ICP-MS dominant (n=3,521 of food iAs results), also HG-AAS, ICP-HGAES, HPLC-HGAFS, HPLC-ICP-MS.

UB: substitution method; LB sets <LOD/<LOQ to zero, UB sets <LOD to LOD and LOD-LOQ to LOQ (Section 2.1.2). This finding is the UB estimate.

Source inconsistency noted (does not affect this value): Table 4 gives N=404 for 'Rice, unspecified' whereas Table 9 gives N=405 with mean LB/UB 79/85; the one-sample difference is not explained.

Shared samples and study overlap

Subgroup rows, statistics of the same subgroup and the study total share samples; they are not independent results.

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
median	Rice, unspecified N=404; 50th percentile UB = 84 µg/kg (Table 4 prints LB and UB columns: 81 / 84)	none

Table 4 'Summary statistics (µg/kg) of iAs in different types of rice', p. 15.

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 iAs reference · 10 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	82.5–84 (bounded)	110	150
Alternative weighting	82.5–84 (bounded)	110	150

87 reference units; 10 sampling families. Counts describe evidence units, not independent studies or certainty.

Contributing family	Reference units	Weight
Alrashdi et al. (2024)	6	10%
WHO GEMS/Food	54	10%
EFSA et al. 2021	10	10%
Limmer et al. 2026	1	10%
Liu et al. 2022	2	10%
Moreda-Pineiro et al. 2020	2	10%
Sim et al. 2024	1	10%
Tian et al. 2024	1	10%
Yan et al. (2025)	7	10%
Zavala et al. 2008	3	10%

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

Reference version and interpretation

Frozen evidence selection: 2026-10-22. Method: hmi-pooled-reference-v2.

hmi-pooled-reference-v2:rice-native-iAs:ac23d7340743

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.