Jamaicans urged to eat local staples after toxic metals found in rice samples

  

High levels of heavy metals found in several popular rice brands have triggered concern from a local clinical dietician who is urging Jamaicans to look to other domestic staples. 

 

The report, conducted by Healthy Babies Bright Futures in May, revealed that many popular brands sold in the United States contained dangerously high levels of arsenic and cadmium, which are linked to a range of serious health problems. 

 

The US is the third largest supplier of rice locally, with the top two suppliers being Guyana and Suriname.

 

Clinical dietician Dr. Alex Johnson expressed concern about the potential health implications and encouraged the public to turn to other locally produced staples.

 

"For cadmium and arsenic, these in high levels, especially arsenic, it can become carcinogenic and it can cause developmental delays. With high levels of cadmium we see research showing where there is kidney damage. So we have been preaching as nutritionist and dieticians that rice is not the only staple and yes, we have to preach affordability. Now is it that the rice that we are getting here in Jamaica is contaminated? I'm not going to say that. But the reality is, this is opening a discussion that we need to have, that rice is not the only staple. We have yam, we have sweet potato, so we have so much other options of carbohydrates," he asserted.

 

Dr. Johnson was a guest on TVJ's Smile Jamaica on Monday morning.

 

The study tested 145 popular brands of rice, including Trader Joe's and Ben's and Goya.

 

It found that on average, total heavy metal levels across the samples ranged from 63 to 188 ppb (parts per billion), with some going as high as 240 ppb.

 

One in four samples exceeded the US Food and Drug Administration's arsenic limit for infant rice cereal.

 

Arsenic showed up at the highest levels followed by cadmium.

 

Lead and mercury were found in smaller amounts.

 

Dr. Johnson said the findings also raise questions about the front of package labelling.