Nature’s One, the baby food manufacturer that was at the center of the controversy over arsenic in brown rice syrup, has announced a goal for zero arsenic in baby formula. Brown rice syrup is used as a substitute for high fructose corn syrup and other sugars in many products.
In February, researchers at Dartmouth College found that some baby formula brands that are sweetened with organic brown rice syrup exceeded the government standards for arsenic in bottled water. That standard is used because the government has not set a standard for arsenic in foods, but is conducting a study about the toxin in rice.
Arsenic is found in rice because much of that crop is grown in former cotton fields in the South, where arsenic was used as a pesticide to kill boll weevils. The rice plant absorbs arsenic as it grows. And arsenic is found in organic brown rice syrup because even though organic foods must be grown in fields that have been certified free of pesticide use for three years, the chemical stays in the soil for decades.
There are two types of arsenic: organic and inorganic. Both are found in the environment as they are natural elements. Inorganic arsenic is the dangerous form of the compound; it’s classified as a Group A human carcinogen. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set a daily limit of 10 μgrams/liter in drinking water. Arsenic levels in rice grown in the South average 0.30 μgrams/gram. People who eat more than 115 grams (1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons uncooked) of rice high in arsenic could surpass the EPA standard.
The Nature’s One press released stated that the company has “innovated a USDA organic-compliant process to possible eliminate detectable arsenic in organic brown rice syrup using modern testing equipment and methodologies.”
The company’s products “meet all world standards for inorganic arsenic in rice-based foods for infants – testing 58% to 73% lower than proposed world standards.” After the release of the Dartmouth study, the company responded, saying that the study’s methodology was flawed and may have inaccurately measured the arsenic levels in the product.
