Arsenic Testing

Do you test for arsenic? 

Arsenic is naturally occurring in soil, so we continually test our rice each year at harvest. 

We have done testing for 10 years and have found that our levels are below what is considered "safe to consume". 

Our testing results are published on our site. Here is the link: https://www.lundberg.com/pages/heavy-metals-in-food

Other Helpful Links: 

Arsenic and Heavy Metals FAQ: https://www.lundberg.com/pages/heavy-metals-in-food

FDA Arsenic: https://www.fda.gov/food/cfsan-risk-safety-assessments/arsenic-rice-and-rice-products-risk-assessment

CODEX General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Food and Feed (Page 55-56): https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/sh-proxy/fr/?lnk=1&url=https%253A%252F%252Fworkspace.fao.org%252Fsites%252Fcodex%252FStandards%252FCXS%2B193-1995%252FCXS_193e.pdf

Can you tell me what types of rice are in the testing groups?

Aromatic: Basmati, Jasmine
Long: Long Grain Rice
Medium: Arborio, Golden Rose
Short: Short Grain, Sushi, Sweet rice
Color: Red Jasmine (Wehani), Black Pearl, Black Japonica

What rice has the lowest levels of arsenic? 

For brown rice, our Aromatic Rice Varieties absorb the least amount of arsenic. This would be our Brown Jasmine and Brown Basmati.

You can find those here on our site: 

Organic Brown Basmati: https://www.lundberg.com/products/organic-brown-basmati-rice-2lb

Organic Brown Jasmine: https://www.lundberg.com/collections/rice-quinoa/products/organic-brown-jasmine-rice-2lb

Our white rice will also have less heavy metal levels and you can find those varieties here: https://www.lundberg.com/collections/rice-quinoa/category_rice-white-rice

What is the Codex? 

The Codex Alimentarius is a joint initiative of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). It is the food standard agency for the United Nations. They are in charge of protecting consumer health and ensuring fair practices in the food trade.

Do you test rice from other regions? 

When we partner with farms in the Southern US and other growing regions, we look extensively at their arsenic testing and make sure it is below the level that is safe to consume per the FDA, European Food Safety Authority and the Codex (FAO and WHO).

How much arsenic is in 1 cup of brown rice? 

The team that does our testing confirmed that one short grain brown rice serving has approximately 3.5 ug (microgram) of Arsenic per serving (or 0.0035 mg of Arsenic per serving).

How much arsenic is in 1 rice cake? 

The team that does our testing confirmed that one rice cake has approximately 1.48 ug (microgram) of Arsenic per serving (or 0.00148 mg of Arsenic per serving).

How much arsenic is in your Brown Rice Syrup? 

Since we test our rice in the raw form, we don’t have test results for specific products like our Brown Rice Syrup. The variety of rice used for our Syrup is Short Grain Brown Rice, so I recommend looking at those results on our site.

Do you test wild rice? 

Since Wild Rice is an aquatic grass, there is currently no published guidelines for maximum or "safe to consume" levels of arsenic in it. At this time, we do not include Wild Rice in our testing, but I will leave feedback with our Quality Assurance team letting them know that there is an interest in this information.

When will you post the new testing results? 

The testing results for the previous harvest are posted around April or May each year. 

How can you produce a product with arsenic in it? 

Arsenic is a naturally occurring element in the soil and is found in many crops that grow in the ground (i.e. carrots, grapes used for wine, potatoes, etc.). That being said, all rice is going to have some level or arsenic in it. There is no such thing as arsenic free rice, regardless of if it is organic or conventionally farmed.

Why does arsenic occur in rice? 

Rice is, by nature, absorbent. As the rice grows, it absorbs arsenic. 

I heard California grown rice has less arsenic. Is that true?  

California tends to have lower levels of arsenic in the soil when compared to other growing regions in the US. 

What's the difference between organic and inorganic arsenic?

Arsenic exists in two forms: Organic and inorganic which, in this case, does not refer to farming practices but chemistry. Inorganic arsenic is more rapidly absorbed than organic arsenic and generally considered more toxic. For this reason, we test specifically for inorganic arsenic and our results consistently fall well below the limits set by regulatory agencies, including the FDA, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), CODEX (a collection of standards, guidelines, and codes of practice adopted by the central part of the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme), and California’s Proposition 65.

Can I rinse, soak or wash the arsenic off? 

Rinsing or soaking your rice can remove some amount of arsenic, but it will not remove it all. Rinsing and soaking for long periods of time can also strip the rice of certain nutrients. You can absolutely soak or rinse the rice if you would like to, but we do not have any information or data to support how that affects the arsenic levels in the rice.

Does sprouting change the arsenic levels? 

The sprouting process would not measurably change the level of arsenic in a specific rice variety.

How much rice can I safely eat and not be affected by arsenic? 

Lundberg Family Farms supports the FDA’s recommendation to eat a balanced and diversified diet that includes a variety of grains in order to ensure good nutrition. Your physician or nutritionist will best understand the specific needs of your body and we recommend consulting with them before making any changes to your diet.

Does your company use arsenic based sprays or arsenic as an ingredient in sprays?

No, we do not. 

In regards to pesticides, our Organic Certifier (CCOF – California Certified Organic Farmers) provides us with a list of approved pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers that we are allowed to use on our certified rice. If we stray from this approved list, we will no longer qualify for the certification.

In farming our non-organic rice, we are allowed to use herbicides and pesticides as needed, however each decision is based on specific events. We do not use any PAN Bad Actors in either Organic or Eco-Farm practices. Bad Actors have been identified by the World Health Organization and includes pesticides with high acute toxicity, known groundwater contaminants, reproductive or developmental toxicants, and probable carcinogens. Herbicides and pesticides are only applied to non-organic rice after great deliberation per event, and all alternatives have been exhausted. We do not use Round-Up or anything containing Glyphosate.

Is there less arsenic in the Regenerative Organic rice? 

The regenerative organic farming practices doesn't mean there is less arsenic in the soil and in the rice. These farming practices mean we have a more biodiverse soil (we use cover crops, compost, etc), but the maximum level of arsenic that can be in the rice is still the same standard.  

Do you recommend feeding infants your rice?

If you are feeding infants or children, I recommend looking at the results per variety - Jasmine Brown and Basmati Brown average around .08 ppm (and the FDA recommends .10 ppm for infants) and our white rice is even lower than that. With this information, we recommend consulting with a pediatrician.