The good news is that you can buy rice everywhere in Austria without hesitation. This is the result of an investigation by chemists at the University of Graz. One of them is Silvia Wehmeier, who explains the procedure: "The samples were taken in supermarkets in Graz, as well as in organic food shops and Asian shops, right across the city. The scientists paid special attention to baby food containing rice and rice from Austria.
Since the threshold value for children is half as low as for grownups, the focus on the little ones is particularly important, confirms their colleague Jörg Feldmann. "The fact that the limit value specifications are largely adhered to is real progress," says the researcher. This was not the case immediately even after the introduction of the new regulations eight years ago. This progress shows that the producers have found rice varieties whose quality can withstand the regulations and comply with the strict specifications.
However, Mrs. Wehmeier interjects that parents should still be careful when shopping. Because the rigorous maximum value only applies to rice products that are explicitly labelled as baby or children's food. "Normal rice waffles or breakfast pops do not fall into this category. For them, the limits are usually two or three times as high as recommended for babies," the researcher points out.
In any case, you are on the safe side if you choose rice from Austria. However, there are only two cultivation areas in this country. "It is dry rice that does not grow in wet fields," Feldmann explains. That is why there is no harmful arsenic in it. However, the chemist also points out that one should not be misled by the total content of arsenic in rice. The majority of the metalloid is organically bound and thus largely harmless. Only inorganic arsenic is classified as carcinogenic. "That is why a precise analysis is so important." The concentration of arsenic in staple foods also depends on many factors, such as grain variety, cultivation region and husking.
Publication:
Dressler, J., Raab, A., Wehmeier, S. & Feldmann, J. Arsenic, cadmium, and lead in rice and rice products on the Austrian market. Food Additives & Contaminats. 2023 https://doi.org/10.1080/19393210.2023.2194061