ABC World News reported on “surprisingly high levels of arsenic hiding in food, including brown rice, organic formula for toddlers.” It added that a new study reported online in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives “is causing a lot of confusion.” ABC News medical editor Richard Besser, MD, explained, “Dartmouth researchers tested baby formulas and found Baby’s Only Organic, Toddler Dairy and Soy formulas contained six times more arsenic than what the FDA says is safe in drinking water. … Arsenic in one of the main ingredients, brown rice syrup.”
On NBC Nightly News, correspondent Tom Costello reported, “Once used as a pesticide, arsenic tends to stay in the soil where it’s absorbed by new crops like rice.” He added, “While the EPA regulates the amount of arsenic allowed in water, there are no regulations on arsenic in juice or food.” Yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration “said it began studying arsenic levels in rice last October. Meanwhile, Nature’s One says independent tests have shown arsenic levels were, quote, ‘undetectable’ in its toddler formula.”
The Los Angeles Times “Booster Shots” blog adds that the type of arsenic “found in the food products has been identified as a human carcinogen. Arsenic can also cause skin, lung and intestinal irritation as well as miscarriage and infertility.”
From the American Association for Justice press release.
