title: The intake of inorganic arsenic from long grain rice and rice-based baby food in Finland - low safety margin warrants follow up.
abstract: We evaluated total and inorganic arsenic levels in long grain rice and rice based baby foods on Finnish market. Inorganic arsenic was analysed with an HPLC-ICP-MS system. The total arsenic concentration was determined with an ICP-MS method. In this study, the inorganic arsenic levels in long grain rice varied from 0.09 to 0.28mg/kg (n=8) and the total arsenic levels from 0.11 to 0.65mg/kg. There was a good correlation between the total and inorganic arsenic levels in long grain rice at a confidence level of 95%. The total arsenic levels of rice-based baby foods were in the range 0.02 - 0.29mg/kg (n=10), however, the level of inorganic arsenic could only be quantitated in four samples, on average they were 0.11mg/kg. Our estimation of inorganic arsenic intake from long grain rice and rice-based baby food in Finland indicate that in every age group the intake is close to the lowest BMDL0.1 value 0.3μg/kg bw/day set by EFSA. According to our data, the intake of inorganic arsenic should be more extensively evaluated.
authors.affiliation: Finnish Food Safety Authority Evira, Research and Laboratory Department, Chemistry and Toxicology Research Unit, Mustialankatu 3, 00790 Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address: eeva-maria.rintala@evira.fi.
authors.forename: Eeva-Maria
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Rintala
authors.affiliation: University of Helsinki, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Department of Food and Environmental Sciences, PL 27 (Latokartanonkaari 11), 117 Helsingin yliopisto, Finland.
authors.forename: Päivi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ekholm
authors.affiliation: Finnish Food Safety Authority Evira, Research and Laboratory Department, Chemistry and Toxicology Research Unit, Mustialankatu 3, 00790 Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Pertti
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Koivisto
authors.affiliation: Finnish Food Safety Authority Evira, Research and Laboratory Department, Chemistry and Toxicology Research Unit, Mustialankatu 3, 00790 Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Kimmo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Peltonen
authors.affiliation: Finnish Food Safety Authority Evira, Research and Laboratory Department, Chemistry and Toxicology Research Unit, Mustialankatu 3, 00790 Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Eija-Riitta
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Venäläinen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D059022:Food Safety; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007225:Infant Food / Q000032:analysis*; D008297:Male; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D008875:Middle Aged; D012275:Oryza / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001151:Arsenic
keywords: Arsenic; HPLC–ICP-MS; Inorganic arsenic; Long grain rice; Rice-based baby food