High levels of arsenic found in baby formula, organic foods

A recent study found that organic brown rice syrup, an ingredient often used as a healthy alternative to high fructose corn syrup, is a potential source of arsenic in food. Compared with products that do not contain this syrup, results showed that cereal bars, energy shots, and infant formulas made with organic brown rice syrup contain high levels of arsenic. Researchers reported some cereal bars contain concentrations of arsenic that are 12 times the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) safe drinking water limit of 10 parts per billion (ppb).

The two main types of arsenic are organic and inorganic, and researchers found the majority of arsenic was inorganic, which is believed as more harmful than organic arsenic. The EPA reported exposure to this compound has been linked to increased risk of bladder, lung and skin cancer, Type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Levels of arsenic found in baby food has become a concern to researchers such as Brian Jackson, of the department of Earth sciences at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH, because of an infant’s small body size. The United States currently holds no rules governing the amount of arsenic permitted in foods but “there is an urgent need to regulate arsenic in food,” the researchers wrote in their study.