How to limit exposure to arsenic in rice

Toxic heavy metals like arsenic are found in high levels in rice brands sold across the United States, according to a recent report — but experts say there are ways to reduce your exposure. 

The report, from Healthy Babies, Bright Futures, an organization focused on babies' exposure to toxic chemicals, says testing found arsenic in 100% of 145 rice samples purchased from stores across the U.S. 

One in four rice samples also exceeded the federal limit of 100 parts per billion of inorganic arsenic set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for infant rice cereal in 2021, according to the report. Currently, no limits have been set for rice itself in the U.S. despite the Environmental Protection Agency labeling inorganic arsenic a carcinogen.

While children are more susceptible to arsenic toxicity than adults, Sung Kyun Park, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health who was not involved in the report, told CBS News expanding federal limits to rice, not just infant rice cereals, is an important future step.  

"Arsenic regulation for rice is very important, but FDA doesn't do that right now," he said. 

In the meantime, for those looking to reduce exposure, here are a few options: 

Use rice alternatives

Park said the most practical recommendation is diversifying your diet to include other grains. He said this is important for people, like himself, a Korean American, who "eat rice every day."

"Reducing reliance on rice as a staple daily diet is important," he said. "Whenever I cook rice, we add rice, quinoa and other whole grains."

HBBF's testing found alternatives including quinoa, barley and couscous contain substantially lower levels of total heavy metals than rice. The group tested 66 samples of rice alternatives.

Look at labels

While arsenic contamination in rice has been known for years, Park said one of the most interesting findings in the latest report was data on how levels differ across growing regions. For example, any rice grown in California was found to have lower arsenic levels that rice grown in the Southeast U.S.

"So whenever you buy rice at (a) grocery store, look at the backside," Park said, adding to look for the "growing region" listed on the product's label.

Cook rice like pasta

"Research shows that cooking rice in 6 to 10 cups of water per 1 cup of rice and draining the excess water before eating can remove a significant amount of arsenic," the HBBF report read.

But, Park admits, "cooking rice like pasta is not easy," which may deter people from this option.

But, if you're willing to put in the work, the FDA says the cooking method can reduce arsenic content by 40% to 60%, depending on the type of rice.

Choose based on type

In addition to location grown, the HBBF report also found some types of rice had higher levels of heavy metals than others. For example, levels are typically lower in white rice than brown. 

Other lower-end level options, according to the report, included jasmine rice from Thailand and basmati rice from India.

Sara Moniuszko

Sara Moniuszko is a health and lifestyle reporter at CBSNews.com. Previously, she wrote for USA Today, where she was selected to help launch the newspaper's wellness vertical. She now covers breaking and trending news for CBS News' HealthWatch.