By Jennifer Iscol and Vic Dolcourt
Additional articles in our special report on arsenic in rice:
Arsenic in Rice: Consumer Advocates Call for Regulation
Arsenic in the Gluten-Free Diet: Facts and Tips
As part of our special report on arsenic in rice, we surveyed gluten-free manufacturers, asking them what types of rice they use, the geographical origin of the rice, whether they test for arsenic, and inviting their comments. Our article Arsenic in Rice: Survey of Gluten-Free Manufacturers gives the larger context for how the survey was conducted.
We would like to express our appreciation to the companies that have responded to our survey. Please support them. We encourage other national and regional gluten-free companies to send information for us to post here. (Just send us an email with the same categories of information.)
Manufacturer Survey Responses
Authentic Foods
Barilla
Bionaturae
Blue Diamond
Bob’s Red Mill
Canyon Bakehouse
CrunchMaster/ TH Foods
Edwards & Sons Trading Company
Ener-G Foods
Enjoy Life Foods
Food for Life
Glutenfreeda
Ian’s
Jovial
Mary’s Gone Crackers
Milton’s
Pamela’s Products
Schar
Authentic Foods
Source: Email from company
Date of response: January 16, 2015
Summary:
Type of rice used: Medium grain white rice, medium grain brown rice and short grain sweet rice.
Geographical source of the rice: We use only California grown rice.
Testing: Yes, see below for details
Barilla
Source: Email from company
Date of response: February 5, 2015
Summary:
Type of rice used: Did not specify
Geographical source of the rice: Did not specify
Testing: Yes, see below for details
Comment from company:
Thank you for your recent email to Barilla America, Inc.
At Barilla, we have the fundamental objective of providing safe, excellent-tasting products that contribute towards a nutritionally balanced diet. As part of this commitment, we have the organization, competences, systems, operative mechanisms and indicators to ensure food safety and the quality of our products. With regards to the rice flour used in our Gluten Free pasta products, Barilla tests the rice flour for arsenic regularly, and the results are around 0,12 ppm [120 ppb], which is significantly below the European Union recommendation of 0,30 ppm [300 ppb].
We hope that you continue to enjoy Barilla Pasta & Sauces.
Bionaturae
Source: Email from company
Date of response: January 9, 2015
Summary:
Type of rice used: Organic white rice
Geographical source of the rice: Italy
Testing: Yes, see below for details
Comment from company:
We set out to find farms for our rice in Italy that could easily guarantee very low levels of arsenic because the arsenic levels have a lot to do with the water that is used to flood the fields. We have also been testing our pasta for years. Each batch of rice, rice flour, and finished pasta is tested for arsenic. The level of arsenic is lower than 5 PPB.
[Bionaturae and Jovial are owned by the same company.]
Blue Diamond
Source: Email from company
Date of response: January 9, 2015
Summary:
Type of rice used: Did not specify
Geographical source of the rice: California
Testing: The company did not indicate that it tests for arsenic
Comment from company:
Thank you for taking the time to contact us here at Blue Diamond. We are aware of the recent news reports concerning arsenic levels in rice and want to assure you that food safety is our highest priority.
Rice is an ingredient in Blue Diamond Nut-Thins® and Artisan Nut-Thins®. As a California based company committed to quality, all of the rice used in our products is California grown.
For information on this topic, we recommend you contact the following:
FDA’s Analysis of Arsenic in Rice and Rice Products
USA Rice Federation
International Food Information Council
Thank you again for contacting us. We very much appreciate your comments and concerns and want to let you know that we are dedicated to taking every measure to ensure the continued safety of our products.
Bob’s Red Mill
Source: By telephone with customer service
Date of call: February 20, 2015
Summary:
Type of rice used: Brown rice and white rice
Geographical source of the rice: California
Testing: The company does not test for arsenic
Canyon Bakehouse
Source: Email from company
Date of response: January 9, 2015
Summary:
Type of rice used: Brown rice
Geographical source of the rice: West Coast
Testing: Yes, see below for details
Comment from company:
Thanks for reaching out. We consistently test our brown rice flour and we have not had a single incident regarding high arsenic levels. Our brown rice flour comes from the West Coast, which has very low levels of organic (non-toxic) arsenic.
CrunchMaster/ TH Foods
Source: Email from company
Date of response: January 12, 2015
Summary:
Type of rice used: Medium grain Japonica, both white and brown.
Geographical source of the rice: California
Testing: Yes, see below for details
Comment from company:
Thank you for your recent inquiry and interest relative to TH Foods and its CrunchMaster products. We are well aware of the fact that certain news stories have raised concerns/issues relative to the presence of naturally occurring inorganic arsenic in certain food products, including rice and rice products. TH Foods has been very attentive and responsive to this issue, and has been very selective in sourcing its ingredients. In response to your specific inquiries, please be advised that TH Foods produces rice cracker products that use only medium grain japonica, California grown rice. (Both white rice and brown rice are used.) No rice is imported from overseas sources. In fact, U.S. grown rice has been found to contain, on average, lower levels of inorganic arsenic than the worldwide average. Just as important, California grown rice has been shown, on average, to have even lower levels of inorganic arsenic than rice grown in the Southern U.S.
Samples of the California rice used by TH Foods are monitored on an annual basis for many potential contaminants, including arsenic. Our latest tests show levels of inorganic arsenic to be about 120 parts per billion (ppb). As you may know, the World Health Organization is proposing inorganic arsenic limits of 200 (ppb) for white rice and 300 ppb for brown rice. TH Foods is well within those proposed limits.
At this time, no maximum allowable level of arsenic in food products has been determined by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. Of course, TH Foods and its products have always complied, and will continue to comply, with applicable government regulations/guidelines. TH Foods considers the safety of our products to be our top priority and will continue to monitor the situation to assure that our CrunchMaster products are healthy and that we will continue to provide products of the highest quality to our valued customers and consumers, including those in the Celiac community.
Edwards & Sons Trading Company
Source: Email from company
Date of response: January 8, 2015
Summary:
Type of rice used: Brown rice, red rice, jasmine rice
Geographical source of the rice: California and Thailand, depending on product
Testing: See testing information on website
Comment from company:
Thank you for contacting Edward & Sons Trading Co. We do have something about arsenic on our website located here.
We use a few different types of rice—it is dependent on the exact product you are inquiring about. We do list all of our ingredients on our website; when you click on an item under ‘Shop Product’, the ingredients for that item will pop up.
For our Brown Rice Snaps made in the USA, the rice used is from California. For our Brown Rice Snaps and Exotic Rice Toasts that are made in Thailand, the rice is from Thailand.
We have over 100 different skus and only 12 of them contain rice. All of our products can be viewed on our website. We also have a list of gluten free items on our website.
We hope this information is what you are looking for. Please let us know if you have any more questions.
Ener-G Foods
Source: Telephone call with company representative
Date of call: February 19, 2015
Summary:
Type of rice used: Did not specify
Geographical source of the rice: Northern California
Testing: The company does not test for arsenic
Enjoy Life Foods
Source: Email and call from company
Date of response: February 23, 2015 (updated 3/17/15)
Summary:
Type of rice used: White and brown rice
Geographical source of the rice: Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Florida
Testing: Yes, see below for details
Comment from company:
Thank you so much for your time today on the phone and for contacting us at Enjoy Life Foods; we always love to hear from our customers, consumers, and supporters.
In response to any perceived immediate threat to human health with respect to arsenic, there has been no regulatory action taken on brown rice, brown rice syrup or foods made from them by the FDA and there are no current recalls for these products in response to these or previous test on brown rice. Scientists continue to reiterate that despite low levels of naturally occurring Arsenic, rice (and rice syrup) and apples (and apple juice) are and will continue to be a safe part of a normal balanced diet. In that sense there is (admittedly from the scientists who collaborated on the study with researchers at Dartmouth’s Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Center) no immediate risk to health and human safety from products which contain rice.
We tested our bars, granolas, and products with rice for arsenic and got results less than 200 ppb (0.2 ppm). This basically means if a product is made up of one million parts, only 0.2 parts (so not even an entire 1-part) will consist of arsenic.
[Enjoy Life provided results of latest testing; we are unable to publish the full table here.]
The only set limit we could find is China which has a limit of 150 ppb (0.15 ppm) for rice and for UK or Australia it is 1000 ppb (1 ppm).
We are passionate about quality and safety, and take our customers concerns seriously. We are always willing to apply additional resources to a topic/issue/concern to meet our consumer’s needs.
Food for Life
Source: Email from company
Date of response: February 20, 2015 (updated 3/19/15)
Summary:
Type of rice used: Organic brown rice
Geographical source of the rice: Northern California
Testing: Yes, see below for details
Comment from company:
Our customers’ health is our number one priority. We test for and monitor all heavy metal toxins including arsenic in our supplies. While we require Certificates of Analysis from all of our rice suppliers including any suspect raw materials, we also randomly and frequently test all of our supplies for the presence of any heavy metal. These measures are aimed at ensuring no “unsafe levels” of arsenic or any other heavy metal toxin ever enters our food supply at Food For Life.
Glutenfreeda
Source: Email from company
Date of response: January 20, 2015
Summary:
Type of rice used: Brown rice, pregelatinized rice flour, IQF rice
Geographical source of the rice: USA
Testing: The company does not test for arsenic
Comment from company:
We thank you for reaching out to us in regards to arsenic in gluten free products.
Glutenfreeda oatmeal and granola products do not contain any rice or products deriving from rice. Here is the link to the products: http://www.glutenfreeda.com/our-products/oatmeal/
http://www.glutenfreeda.com/our-products/granola/
We use some brown rice flour in our pocket sandwich formula as well as in our flatbreads along with multiple other grains and flours that are gluten free. In addition, pre-gelatinized rice flour is used in our tortilla formula as well as IQF rice in some of our burrito fillings. Rice and rice flour products are sourced from USA. The products that are formulated using rice and rice flour contain multiple other ingredients, and rice is not the main component in any of our formula. Considering the low levels of rice in our formulas and our sourcing standards currently we don’t test our products for levels of arsenic.
But Glutenfreeda Foods is associated with Gluten Free Watchdog Group that is in the process of conducting a research project-testing of gluten free breakfast cereals to determine levels of arsenic. This project will consist of testing several batches of gluten free products to collect representative data, which we hope will shed some light on this topic.
Hope this helps, and please contact me if you have further questions.
Ian’s
Source: Email from company
Date of response: January 29, 2015 (updated 3/19/15)
Summary:
Type of rice used: White rice and brown rice
Geographical source of the rice: Wide variety of geographical areas
Testing: The company did not indicate that it tests for arsenic
Comment from company:
We are proud of Ian’s diverse portfolio of gluten free products, which provides consumers with a variety of gluten free alternatives and options so they can make choices that best meet their unique tastes, preferences and lifestyle needs.
The hallmark of a nutritious diet for anyone, whether they choose or need to eat a gluten-free diet or not, is balance and variety. This can be especially challenging for a consumer with lifestyle modifications due to celiac disease and/or food allergies. Ian’s strives to offer a diverse gluten free product portfolio and incorporates a variety of gluten free grains other than rice in our products such as corn, millet and sorghum. Over a third of our product portfolio contains gluten free products that do not contain any rice. Our gluten free rice-free products include Chicken Nuggets, Chicken Tenders, Popcorn Turkey Corn Dogs, Fish Sticks, Chicken Patties, Onion Rings, Stuffing and Tortilla Breadcrumbs.
Some of our products contain ingredients derived from rice such as rice flour and rice maltodextrin. The rice used in such ingredients is sourced from a wide variety of geographical areas and includes both refined (white) and whole grain (brown) varieties. We have a strict supplier approval process that requires our suppliers to comply with all regulatory guidelines. We will continue to work closely with them to ensure they stay abreast of any scientific research related to identification of undesirable substances, naturally occurring or otherwise.
Jovial
Source: Email from company
Date of response: January 9, 2015
Summary:
Type of rice used: Organic Brown Rice
Geographical source of the rice: Italy
Testing: Yes, see below for details
Comment from company:
Jovial utilizes select varieties of long grain brown rice for making their gluten free pasta. All of the rice is grown in Italy on one farm. The owners of jovial have worked as manufacturers in the organic food industry for twenty years, and have known about the problem with arsenic in rice for over a decade. When we developed the jovial brand, we sought out farms that historically did not have arsenic in their harvested rice. In this manner, the product results always less than 5ppb per serving size.
Rice is grown under water for a good part of the growing season because it creates and anaerobic environment that prohibits the proliferation of weeds. Inorganic arsenic is present in soil and groundwater in most parts of the world because it is naturally occurring and also there due to it being present in pesticides that were used years ago. When the fields are flooded, the plant goes into a survival mode and absorbs as much as it can from the soil and water, including the heavy metals arsenic, lead and cadmium.
In order to avoid the presence of arsenic in our raw material, jovial has spent years testing and selecting one farm that has very low arsenic levels, if any, in their water and soil. Each batch of rice, rice flour, and finished pasta is tested for arsenic. The average levels of inorganic arsenic per serving range from 0 to 1ppm for the cooked pasta. It is important to boil pasta and rice in abundant water, as stated on the package’s cooking instructions, because that will reduce arsenic levels in the cooked food by 40%.
Jovial is currently testing two agricultural techniques that involves growing the rice without flooding the fields. The company’s 3-year plan is to create a network of farmers that will use these new techniques in order to guarantee arsenic-free rice for all of jovial’s products.
[Bionaturae and Jovial are owned by the same company.]
Mary’s Gone Crackers
Source: Email from company
Date of response: January 28, 2015
Summary:
Type of rice used: Organic whole short grain brown rice and organic whole grain brown rice flour
Geographical source of the rice: Northern California
Testing: Yes, see below for details
Comment from company:
Our rice is sourced from Northern California and is 100% certified organic. The highest source of arsenic in rice comes from the rice grown in the Southeastern part of the U.S., where cotton had previously been grown. The soil there is full of arsenic from the chemical pesticides put on the cotton crops and rice is the kind of plant that more readily absorbs arsenic if it’s in the soil.
As we continue to grow, we are searching for other sources of organic rice that work in our products. We are currently testing rice from Indonesia, which has very low arsenic soil levels.
We have tested for arsenic in our products. The testing combines organic (naturally occurring) and non-organic arsenic levels. Organic arsenic naturally lives in the soil. Inorganic arsenic is more closely associated with long-term health effects. Specific testing for inorganic arsenic would need to become available to assess the true toxicity of a product. Because of the ambiguity of these tests, we do not share the results publicly.
Please let me know if you need any further information. Thank you again for including us in your article.
Further information: http://www.marysgonecrackers.com/media/files/docs/Arsenic_letter.pdf
Milton’s
Source: Telephone call with company representative
Date of call: February 27, 2015
Summary:
Type of rice used: Brown rice and white rice
Geographical source of the rice: Primarily U.S. rice from California and Texas, with potential fluctuation in suppliers based on availability
Testing: Yes, see below for details
Comment from company:
Milton’s regularly tests its rice ingredients for arsenic to standards established by the company.
Pamela’s Products
Source: By telephone
Date of call: February 20, 2015
Summary:
Type of rice used: Brown rice, white rice and sweet rice
Geographical source of the rice: California
Testing: The company does not test for arsenic
Comment from company:
The arsenic issue is not new and it is difficult because arsenic is naturally occurring in the ground. Manufacturers do not have access to a supply of arsenic-free rice. Pamela’s always strives to support local suppliers and we buy all our rice from California, which is the option lowest in arsenic. Pamela’s prides itself on buying quality ingredients and if there are concerns we try to convey to consumers the reality of this issue. Pamela’s products are all made with a variety of ingredients, of which different types of rice are a component, but rice does not comprise the largest percentage of the product recipe.
Schar
Source: Email from company
Date of response: January 20, 2015 (updated 3/18/15)
Summary:
Type of rice used: White rice flour and rice starch
Geographical source of the rice: Italy and non-specified European country
Testing: Yes, see below for details
Comment from company:
Dr. Schar uses a combination of white rice flour and rice starch sourced from contract farming in Italy as well as a European, non-Italian company. We do not source rice from the United States or Asia. We also use caramelized cane syrup, glucose syrup, sugar beet syrup or white rice syrup instead of brown rice syrup. We use a combination of grain flours and starches in our products so the total rice content is lower. We use lower arsenic containing grains such as millet, buckwheat, corn and sorghum to add nutritional and texture advantages to our products.
Dr. Schar does extensive testing of all of our ingredients and finished products for a variety of allergens and other safety concerns. For arsenic we have been testing for several years and test both the ingredients and finished products. Additionally we test for both forms of arsenic; organic and inorganic arsenic as inorganic arsenic is far more toxic than most organic forms found in the environment and in food. As arsenic is not yet regulated in food products but there are safety standards for water we also test our water supplies. The water supply is tested on a regular basis to assure the compliance with the FDA and FSA standards of being under 10 ppb.
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