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A new report in the journal, “Environmental Health Perspectives” says the arsenic content of an organic sweetener may make it more dangerous than sugar or corn syrup. Researchers from Dartmouth College say one infant formula sweetened with organic brown rice syrup had six times the federal limit for arsenic in drinking water. Jim Morris with the California Rice Commission says the arsenic is naturally occurring.
RICE1A: 08 “All rice that’s produced starts out as brown rice and then it is processed more. The outer husk is taken off and that is white rice.
When the husk is removed, so is much of the arsenic content. The California Rice Commission has joined some members of the House of Representatives in asking the Food and Drug Administration to establish limits for arsenic in food and beverages.
The FDA says it launched a study of arsenic in rice and rice products this past October and hopes to have the results sometime this spring.
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PROMO: A new study says baby formula, breakfast bars, and energy supplements may contain amounts of arsenic in excess of what’s allowed in drinking water.
Intro: 09 An organic sweetener called organic brown rice syrup has been found to be the source of elevated levels of arsenic in some foods. Reporter Bob Moffitt has the story.
:47 A new study by Dartmouth researchers in the journal, “Environmental Health Perspectives” says some breakfast bars contained 15 times the amount of arsenic compared to bars without any rice product.
Jim Morris with the California Rice Commission says the Federal Food and Drug Administration should provide guidelines for arsenic content
RICE1A: 15 “Help our farmers, our mills, and consumers understand the importance of arsenic in rice and rice products. We want the expertise from the F.D.A…a science-based understanding of healthy food and this naturally-occurring element.”
All rice starts out as brown rice. The level of arsenic drops when the husk is removed and the rice becomes white. The FDA says it launched a study of arsenic in rice and rice products this past October and hopes to have the results sometime this spring. In Sacramento, I’m Bob Moffitt
