Three House Democrats today introduced legislation to limit arsenic in rice after a consumer study this week found high levels in common rice products.

The bill by Reps. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, Frank Pallone of New Jersey and Nita Lowey of New York would require the Food and Drug Administration to set a maximum level of permissible arsenic in rice products. The agency currently has few standards for arsenic in foods, though it does regulate levels in bottled water.

Earlier this week, Consumer Reports wrote that it had found carcinogenic inorganic arsenic in cereals, breakfast goods, brown rice and white rice after sampling 200 products. Inorganic arsenic levels in some infant rice cereals were "at least five times" that found in oatmeal and other alternatives (Greenwire, Sept. 19).

In introducing the "Reducing food-based Inorganic and organic Compounds Exposure Act," or "RICE Act," the trio of lawmakers cited health risks associated with the substance.

"The idea that high levels of arsenic, a known carcinogen, are present in rice, cereal and other common, everyday foods is absolutely outrageous," DeLauro said in a statement today. "The federal government has an obligation to every American family to ensure that the food they consume is safe and should not make them sick. This is not the first time we have been alerted to the dangers of arsenic, and quite simply we must do more to ensure that our food supply is safe."

Earlier this year, DeLauro and Pallone introduced similar legislation that would require FDA to establish standards for arsenic and lead in fruit juices (E&E Daily, Feb. 10).