Arsenic-polluted water linked to cancer in India

By Medhavi Arora, CNN

Updated 0743 GMT (1543 HKT) May 1, 2017

Because rice takes up arsenic more readily than other grains, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is looking at the effects of long-term exposure to very low amounts of arsenic in rice and rice products. Rice's importance as a staple in regions around the world makes it a priority for food researchers. <br /><br />In April, the FDA <a href="http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodborneIllnessContaminants/Metals/ucm367263.htm" target="_blank">proposed a limit of 100 parts per billion of inorganic arsenic</a> in infant rice cereal. <br /><br />Click through the gallery for more foods that can contain traces of arsenic, according to studies. <br />
Photos: Foods in which arsenic may be present
Because rice takes up arsenic more readily than other grains, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is looking at the effects of long-term exposure to very low amounts of arsenic in rice and rice products. Rice's importance as a staple in regions around the world makes it a priority for food researchers.

In April, the FDA proposed a limit of 100 parts per billion of inorganic arsenic in infant rice cereal.

Click through the gallery for more foods that can contain traces of arsenic, according to studies.
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In a <a href="http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/1104619/" target="_blank">2012 study</a> by researchers at Dartmouth College, products that listed organic brown rice syrup as a primary ingredient, such as some <a href="http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/health/2012/02/16/exp-cohen-and-arsenic-in-baby-formula.cnn.html">toddler formulas and cereal bars</a>, tested positive for higher levels of arsenic than products that didn't contain the ingredient or contained less of it.