On April 11, Dr. Dr. Tsananagurayi Tongesayi of Monmouth (NJ) presented a study to members of the American Chemical Society, putting forth that rice sourced from Asia, Europe and South America exceeded toxic levels of led allowed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by up to 60 times. The story was picked up by myriad global news outlets, including the BBC and TIME.
On April 19, however, Dr. Tongesayi withdrew the study, citing “issues” with the measuring instruments used in the study. News of the retraction has been less widespread.
Refuting the figures
In an interview with FoodProductionDaily.com David Janow, CEO of Los Angeles-based Axiom Foods and founder of the World Rice Alliance, said the study was problematic from the get-go.
“Manufacturers have known for years that rice and hundreds of other plant-based ingredients which soak up elements from the soil need to be tested at the source, especially if they want to sell their food/beverage/supplement products in California,” he said.
Janow added with pressure from California’s Prop 65 and technological advancement in measuring instruments, manufacturers have been ensuring safety of supply with ongoing testing.
Flawed focus
Janow pointed out that the lack of third-party verification on the metals study would have helped prevent damage to the industry.
“If they had conducted third-party verification testing prior the news going worldwide, we could have avoided all the potential harm to the world’s third-largest crop’s reputation,” he said. “That flawed research led to implied credibility when the study was presented at an industry conference and when dozens of media took the study at its word. “
Lack of specifics
Janow also pointed out that the researcher was not specific enough regarding source of the rice in question.
“When we asked the researcher how he knew where the rice was sourced from, he said he bought it from a New Jersey grocery store and if it said ‘Manufactured in China’ he noted China as the source,” Janow said. “That is not precise enough, especially when China covers over 3.7million sq. miles, and where a product is sourced versus processed can be two different places.”
Other issues
Janow added that the study did not adequately address the many factors that can affect the presence of lead, arsenic and other heavy metals. Those can include the equipment used to harvest it, containers used to transport, environment it is processed in and the packaging it touched along the way.
Janow underscored that the rice supply is guarded from metals in a number of ways—testing at the source and points upon the supply chain, for example. However, he said, processors should further ensure safety by using a reliable broker and/or taking responsibility for metals testing on themselves.
Federal authority
Finally, Janow said the rice supply gets an additional level of security through the work of regulating bodies.
“Despite limited resources, the FDA is doing a great job of making thoughtful decisions to provide security in both the short and long term,” he said.