Citation:Channa Jayasumana, Priyani Paranagama, Saranga Fonseka, Mala Amarasinghe, Sarath Gunatilake and Sisira Siribaddana (2015) Presence of arsenic in Sri Lankan rice, *International Journal of Food Contamination *(2015) 2:1, DOI 10.1186/s40550-015-0007-1.
Date:2015
Abstract:
Background: Arsenic and heavy metals are implicated in causation of CKDu among farmers in dry zone of
Sri Lanka. Rice has been identified as a major source of arsenic in research carried out in other countries.
We analyzed 120 samples of new improved varieties (NIVs) and 50 samples of traditional varieties (TV) of rice
for total arsenic content.
Findings: Rice cultivated in Sri Lanka is contaminated with arsenic. Agrochemical dependent NIVs contain
considerable amount (20.6 -540.4 μg/Kg) of arsenic. There is no difference between the arsenic content in NIV
rice samples from areas where there is high or low prevalence of CKDu. TVs that are cultivated without using
agrochemicals contain significantly less arsenic (11.6 - 64.2 μg/Kg). However, it is evident that the TVs also
contain toxic metals if they are grown with fertilizers and pesticides.
Conclusion: A high proportion of arsenic in rice exists in the inorganic form. Sri Lanka is a nation with high
per capita consumption of rice. Codex Alimentarius recommends the maximum allowable limit for inorganic
arsenic in rice as 200 μg/kg. Assuming that 70% of the total arsenic content exists in the inorganic form, this
corresponds to a level of about 286 μg/kg of total arsenic. As such, 11.6% of the samples of NIVs exceeded
this maximum recommended level in polished rice. Inorganic arsenic is a non-threshold carcinogen. Research
should be focused on developing rice varieties that do not retain arsenic within the rice grain.
