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Inorganic arsenic contamination of rice from Chinese major rice-producing areas and exposure assessment in Chinese population

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Abstract

This study examined the total arsenic (Ast) and inorganic arsenic (Asi) content in the main rice growing area of China. The results were compared with other countries and then used for dietary exposure assessment. A total of 446 rice samples from 15 main rice-growing provinces and autonomous regions of China were collected and then divided into unpolished and polished rice. Total arsenic and arsenic species were analyzed in a total of 892 subsamples using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled ICP-MS, respectively. National Ast means were 255 μg/kg of unpolished rice and 143 μg/kg of polished rice. Asi was found to be the predominant species and mean levels were 209 μg/kg of unpolished rice and 108 μg/kg of polished rice, respectively. Exposure assessment to Asi in polished rice has been calculated for the margin of exposure (MOE), which highlights the fact that Asi levels in the Chinese rice should arouse public health concern.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Food Safety Risk Assessment, Ministry of Health, China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, Beijing, 100022, China

    Xiaowei Li, Ke Xie, Bing Yue, Yunyun Gong, Yi Shao, Xiaohong Shang & Yongning Wu

  2. Food Science and Engineering Department, Wuhan Polytechnic University, Wuhan, 430023, China

    Ke Xie & Yongning Wu

  3. Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University of Belfast, Belfast, UK

    Yunyun Gong

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  1. Xiaowei Li
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  2. Ke Xie
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  3. Bing Yue
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  4. Yunyun Gong
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  5. Yi Shao
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  6. Xiaohong Shang
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  7. Yongning Wu
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Correspondence to Yongning Wu.

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Li, X., Xie, K., Yue, B. et al. Inorganic arsenic contamination of rice from Chinese major rice-producing areas and exposure assessment in Chinese population. Sci. China Chem. 58, 1898–1905 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-015-5443-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-015-5443-5

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