WASHINGTON -- The Food and Drug Administration says consumers shouldn't worry too much about levels of arsenic in rice – but should vary their diets just in case.


The agency is releasing a study of arsenic in 1,300 samples of rice and rice products that is the largest study to date looking at the carcinogen's presence in rice. It shows varying levels, with the most arsenic in brown rice and the least in instant rice.


The FDA says the amounts are so small that rice is safe to eat, but it is still studying long-term effects of consuming rice. The agency has long encouraged consumers to vary their diets to minimize risk.


Rice likely contains arsenic because it is grown in water on the ground, where the contaminant can be absorbed.



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  • Olive Oil


    It's a bit disturbing to think about that a lot of the extra virgin olive oil you consume is contaminated with deodorants and other, non-olive oils. Tom Mueller's book, "<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-mueller/fake-olive-oil_b_1174428.html" target="_hplink">Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil</a>," tackles this issue.

    The Food Fraud Database lists adulterants such as corn oil, hazelnut oil and palm oil.


    <em>Photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/celticsu/3102164381/sizes/z/in/photostream/" target="_hplink">Flickr user:Suzi Rosenberg</a></em>




  • Milk


    After all the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/26/china-tainted-milk_n_1169896.html" target="_hplink">tainted milk scares in China</a>, it's no surprise that milk is at the top of the food fraud list. Adulterants include whey, bovine milk protein, melamine and cane sugar.


    <em>Photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/markhillary/829573216/sizes/z/in/photostream/" target="_hplink">Flickr user: markhillary</a></em>




  • Honey


    One third of honey in the U.S. is <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/17/honey-tainted_n_929517.html" target="_hplink">potentially tainted</a>. That means high-fructose corn syrup, glucose, fructose and more.


    <em>Photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sionakaren/3870732249/sizes/z/in/photostream/" target="_hplink">Flickr user: Siona Karen</a></em>




  • Saffron


    Perhaps it's no surprise that saffron is often adulterated, given that it is the most expensive spice in the world. The Food Fraud Database lists sandlewood dust, starch, yellow dye and gelatin threads as some of the contaminants.

    <em>Photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jackson3/3770492248/sizes/z/in/photostream/" target="_hplink">Flickr user: Steven Jackson Photography</a></em>




  • Orange Juice


    Orange juice has been in the news a lot lately after the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/11/orange-juice-imports-fda-fungicide-_n_1200305.html" target="_hplink">fungicide scare</a>. Fungicide might be the tip of the iceberg though -- apparently it can also contain grapefruit juice, marigold flower extract, corn sugar and paprika extract.


    <em>Photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sfllaw/335982719/sizes/z/in/photostream/" target="_hplink">Flickr user: sfllaw</a></em>




  • Coffee


    How do you take your coffee? We're guessing probably without chicory, roasted corn, caramel, malt, glucose, leguminous plants and maltodextrins.


    <em>Photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dyobmit/18588671/sizes/z/in/photostream/" target="_hplink">Flickr user: dyobmit</a></em>




  • Apple Juice


    Once we learned that there might be <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/01/arsenic-apple-juice_n_1122979.html" target="_hplink">arsenic in apple juice</a>, we realized that no food ingredient is safe. Although the arsenic might have been blown out of proportion, there are several other common contaminants in everyone's favorite juice box. These include: high-fructose corn syrup, raisin sweetener and synthetic malic acid.


    <em>Photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/garryknight/5761086703/sizes/z/in/photostream/" target="_hplink">Flickr user: garryknight</a></em>