Recall: Beech-Nut to stop selling baby rice cereal after finding high arsenic levels

[The Heretic]

Beech-Nut to stop selling baby rice cereal after finding high arsenic levels

Beech-Nut voluntarily recalled an infant rice cereal Tuesday because it exceeds a predetermined FDA limit of 100 parts per billion of arsenic and announced it would no longer sell rice cereal for babies.

www.cnn.com

FWIW - arsenic on rice grains is common - it is naturally occurring. This is why you should wash rice before you cook it, and why I make a practice of washing it, then cooking it a little, then rinsing it again. Sometimes several times.

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[Xaevian]

Reminds me of this incident in China that resulted in executions and life imprisonment of the company executives:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Chinese_milk_scandal

 

[The Heretic]

Reminds me of this incident in China that resulted in executions and life imprisonment of the company executives:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Chinese_milk_scandal

No. For one thing, the arsenic is natural - it is NOT an added adulteration. All crops absorb chemicals from the ground and water they grow in. Arsenic is naturally occurring in soil. With rice this is a known issue because rice absorbs chemicals more readily than many other crops.

For most people the very little arsenic in most rice is not a big issue, but for babies that are still developing it is probably a good idea to limit their rice intake until they are older.

 

[albin25]

Did the arsenic levels suddenly spike? Or, did they change the testing method? Big increase in babies getting sick recently? One recall and they discontinue their product, permanently? How could generations of babies have survived previously, particularly in Asian(is that racist?) countries?What are the levels in other foods (baby or otherwise?)

Well, I guess It had to go anyhoo... way, wayyy too white.
(could it be time to stockpile marshmallows?)

 

[The Heretic]

Did the arsenic levels suddenly spike? Or, did they change the testing method? Big increase in babies getting sick recently? One recall and they discontinue their product, permanently? How could generations of babies have survived previously, particularly in Asian(is that racist?) countries?What are the levels in other foods (baby or otherwise?)

Well, I guess It had to go anyhoo... way, wayyy too white.
(could it be time to stockpile marshmallows?)

I can't speak to the historic data, but I do know that naturally occurring arsenic from water and soil has been a known issue with rice for a long time. I eat a lot of rice - I love Basmati rice made with lemon and saffron and chicken broth as a staple on which I put stir fry or other foods. I prefer it to noodles by far, although noodles are easier to prepare (just nuke them for a few minutes in water, whereas rice takes longer).

 

[Xaevian]

Ate multiple times each day, by billions and billions of people, including infants...for over 2000 years...I would be more concerned with processed foods, to be honest. If they found an issue, I guarantee human error or lack of oversight is involved. I understand your point about the increased amount found in rice, but it has always been there and that can vary by place and additional contamination.

Rice grown where pesticides are unregulated, in reclaimed mining fields or using water that travels through mining areas and near coal power plants are going to be much, much higher in arsenic than normal. That was my point.

 

[The Heretic]

Ate multiple times each day, by billions and billions of people, including infants...for over 2000 years...I would be more concerned with processed foods, to be honest. If they found an issue, I guarantee human error or lack of oversight is involved. I understand your point about the increased amount found in rice, but it has always been there and that can vary by place and additional contamination.

Rice grown where pesticides are unregulated, in reclaimed mining fields or using water that travels through mining areas and near coal power plants are going to be much, much higher in arsenic than normal. That was my point.

My understanding is that in regions where rice is the main staple they have shown a drop in IQ. Not sure about that, but whatever...

I am not concerned about it (as I said, I eat a lot of rice), but I posted this because it is a recall, and some people here have babies/small children and they may want to consider the issue. For adults it is probably not an issue.

 

[bigbearbear]

Beech-Nut to stop selling baby rice cereal after finding high arsenic levels

Beech-Nut voluntarily recalled an infant rice cereal Tuesday because it exceeds a predetermined FDA limit of 100 parts per billion of arsenic and announced it would no longer sell rice cereal for babies.

www.cnn.com

FWIW - arsenic on rice grains is common - it is naturally occurring. This is why you should wash rice before you cook it, and why I make a practice of washing it, then cooking it a little, then rinsing it again. Sometimes several times.

I wash mine with Dawn. hahhhah.....just kidding, for those thinking of cooking your own rice please don't do that.

I rinse it a couple of times, put them into the trusty Zojirushi with the right amount of water, press a button, it sings me a cute little melody and wait for it to be done, upon which it sings another melody. Quite a cute little kitchen appliance.

Most of the rice we buy here at popular Asian grocery stores such as 99 Ranch Market and H Mart are grown in California anyway, you're more likely to be poisoned by their leftist politics then arsenic from their rice.