Is there arsenic in rice?
The claim: Rice is full of arsenic.
Last checked 9 October 2026
Rice does contain arsenic. It tends to take up more than other crops, brown rice more than white, and by Europe's yardstick a cup eaten every day can, on its own, carry more than the daily reference point. No food safety body we read tells you to stop eating it, and how you cook it makes a real difference.
In the FDA's 2013 tests of rice sold in the US, a cup of cooked long-grain white rice works out at about 5.8 µg of inorganic arsenic, and a cup of cooked brown rice about 11 µg. Europe's food safety authority, EFSA, uses 4.2 µg a day for a 70 kg adult as its reference point and has set no level it calls low concern. That reference point sits inside what ordinary European diets already deliver. Cooking rice in lots of water and draining it, as you would pasta, cuts the arsenic substantially.
Why rice?
The FDA puts it plainly:
Rice tends to absorb arsenic more readily than other crops, however, consumers can certainly eat rice as part of a well-balanced diet.
In the grain, it sits mostly in the outer layer, which is why brown rice carries more:
In rice grains, iAs is concentrated in the outer bran layer surrounding the endosperm (Meharg et al., 2008; Sun et al., 2008), and therefore brown rice, (unmilled or unpolished rice that retains its bran) contains more iAs than white rice.
This page is about inorganic arsenic, the kind EFSA and the FDA are concerned about in rice.
How much is in the rice you buy
The FDA tested rice sold in the US (samples tested 2012–2013) and reported the average inorganic arsenic per serving of uncooked rice. Its serving:
For rice, the RACC serving size used was 45 g per serving based on dry weight.
| Rice | FDA average per serving | Range per serving | Samples | Average, µg/kg | Highest sample, µg/kg | EU maximum, µg/kg | Margin (70 kg, one serving a day) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White rice, long grain | 4.6 µg | 1.0–8.8 µg | 149 | 100 | 200 | 150 | 0.91 |
| White rice, medium grain | 3.6 µg | 1.8–7.8 µg | 91 | 80 | 170 | 150 | 1.2 |
| White rice, short grain | 3.5 µg | 2.3–4.6 µg | 23 | 78 | 100 | 150 | 1.2 |
| Basmati | 3.5 µg | 0.9–9.0 µg | 53 | 78 | 200 | — | 1.2 |
| Instant | 2.6 µg | 1.4–6.0 µg | 14 | 58 | 130 | — | 1.6 |
| Jasmine | 3.9 µg | 1.5–6.8 µg | 13 | 87 | 150 | — | 1.1 |
| Parboiled | 5.1 µg | 3.2–8.6 µg | 39 | 110 | 190 | 250 | 0.82 |
| Brown rice | 7.2 µg | 1.5–11 µg | 99 | 160 | 240 | 250 | 0.58 |
| Other (wild rice, carnaroli, mixed types) | 5.6 µg | 4.0–7.2 µg | 6 | 120 | 160 | — | 0.75 |
The European Union sets legal maximums for inorganic arsenic in rice: one level for white rice, a higher one for parboiled and brown rice. Each type's FDA average is under its EU maximum, but some single samples of long-grain and medium-grain white rice were above it. FDA's basmati, jasmine, instant and other rows mixed white and brown or other grains, so no EU level is shown for them.
Europe's yardstick
EFSA reassessed inorganic arsenic in food in 2024. Its reference point comes from skin cancer studies:
Epidemiological studies show that the chronic intake of iAs via diet and/or drinking water is associated with increased risk of several adverse outcomes including cancers of the skin, bladder and lung.
The CONTAM Panel used the benchmark dose lower confidence limit based on a benchmark response (BMR) of 5% (relative increase of the background incidence after adjustment for confounders, BMDL05) of 0.06 μg iAs/kg bw per day obtained from a study on skin cancer as a Reference Point (RP).
Inorganic As is a genotoxic carcinogen with additional epigenetic effects and the CONTAM Panel applied a margin of exposure (MOE) approach for the risk characterisation.
So EFSA uses a margin of exposure (MOE) rather than a safe daily amount: the reference point divided by what you take in every day, over the long term. EFSA would not name a margin that is low concern:
Therefore, the Panel decided not to determine a value for an MOE of low concern.
An MOE of 1 would correspond to an exposure level that is associated with a 5% increase relative to the background incidence for skin cancer, based on the available data. The CONTAM Panel concludes that this MOE raises a health concern.
The RP of 0.06 μg iAs/kg bw per day for skin cancer is in the range of the mean dietary exposure estimates for iAs in adults (0.03–0.15 μg iAs/kg bw per day), and below any of the 95th percentile exposure estimates in adults (range = 0.07–0.33 μg iAs/kg bw per day).
So the reference point is not a line that rice-eaters alone cross: ordinary European diets already sit around it. For a 70 kg adult it is 4.2 µg a day. Eaten every day, a cup of cooked long-grain white rice on its own gives a margin of about 0.73, and a cup of cooked brown rice about 0.39, before counting anything else you eat or drink. These cup figures assume no arsenic is lost in cooking, so they are high for that reason; single bags of rice vary above and below the average.
Does washing or cooking help?
Cooking in plenty of water and draining it helps a lot, at a cost. A 2021 lab study also tested a method it calls parboiling and absorbing (PBA):
Published studies, including research by the FDA, show that cooking rice similar to how pasta is cooked can reduce 40 to 60 percent of the inorganic arsenic content, depending on the type of rice.
Specifically, cooking in excess water reduces the levels of folate, iron, niacin and thiamine, nutrients that are added to polished (white) and parboiled rice as part of the enrichment process, by 50 to 70 percent.
Parboiled and absorbed (PBA), in which water was boiled first, and then the rice was added to cook for 5 min; the water was then discarded, and the rice was then cooked using the absorption method in fresh deionised water.
Overall, our results show that PBA was the optimum approach assessed, removing 54% and 73% of inorganic arsenic (iAs) for brown and white rice respectively, raising the margin of exposure (MOE) by 3.7 for white rice and 2.2 times for brown rice, thus allowing the consumption of rice more safely for infants, children and adults.
On rinsing, the sources disagree: the FDA first, then the 2021 study's summary of earlier work and its own result:
The FDA research also shows that rinsing rice before cooking has a minimal effect on the arsenic content of the cooked grain and will wash off iron, folate, thiamine and niacin from polished and parboiled rice.
For instance, washing or rinsing rice in cold water was found to reduce iAs in white rice by 10–40% (Atiaga et al., 2020; Gray et al., 2015; Naito et al., 2015; Raab et al., 2009).
Washing and pre-soaking prior to absorption cooking reduced iAs in white rice only.
Where rinsing helped, it was for white rice.
What you'll hear at the table
Rice gets argued over at a lot of tables. Here is each claim, checked against its source.
You'll hear: Brown rice has more arsenic than white.
Holds up
It does, in the FDA's 2013 tests (see the table above), and the reason is the bran:
In rice grains, iAs is concentrated in the outer bran layer surrounding the endosperm (Meharg et al., 2008; Sun et al., 2008), and therefore brown rice, (unmilled or unpolished rice that retains its bran) contains more iAs than white rice.
You'll hear: Rinsing rice washes the arsenic off.
Partly holds up
Some, for white rice, according to several studies. The FDA found the effect minimal, and rinsing enriched rice washes off added vitamins too:
For instance, washing or rinsing rice in cold water was found to reduce iAs in white rice by 10–40% (Atiaga et al., 2020; Gray et al., 2015; Naito et al., 2015; Raab et al., 2009).
The FDA research also shows that rinsing rice before cooking has a minimal effect on the arsenic content of the cooked grain and will wash off iron, folate, thiamine and niacin from polished and parboiled rice.
You'll hear: Cook rice like pasta and the arsenic goes.
Partly holds up
A lot of it goes, not all, and some nutrients go with it:
Published studies, including research by the FDA, show that cooking rice similar to how pasta is cooked can reduce 40 to 60 percent of the inorganic arsenic content, depending on the type of rice.
Specifically, cooking in excess water reduces the levels of folate, iron, niacin and thiamine, nutrients that are added to polished (white) and parboiled rice as part of the enrichment process, by 50 to 70 percent.
You'll hear: Rice is one of the biggest sources of arsenic in food.
Holds up
In Europe's diet, at least:
According to the report from EFSA from 2021, across the different age classes, the main contributors to the dietary exposure to iAs (LB) were ‘Rice’, ‘Rice-based products’, ‘Grains and grain-based products (no rice)’ and ‘Drinking water’.
You'll hear: There's a safe amount of arsenic.
Not settled
EFSA declined to name one. It treats inorganic arsenic as a cancer-causing substance that can damage DNA:
Inorganic As is a genotoxic carcinogen with additional epigenetic effects and the CONTAM Panel applied a margin of exposure (MOE) approach for the risk characterisation.
Therefore, the Panel decided not to determine a value for an MOE of low concern.
That is not the same as saying any amount is dangerous: it means EFSA would not draw a line.
You'll hear: You should stop eating rice.
Doesn't hold up
No food safety body we read says so. The FDA:
Rice tends to absorb arsenic more readily than other crops, however, consumers can certainly eat rice as part of a well-balanced diet.
EFSA's reference point also sits inside ordinary European diets (see "Europe's yardstick" above).
You'll hear: American rice breaks Europe's arsenic limits.
Partly holds up
On average, no: in the FDA's 2013 tests every type's average was under its EU maximum. But some single samples of long-grain and medium-grain white rice were above it (see the table above).
You'll hear: Basmati has less arsenic.
Partly holds up
On average it did in the FDA's 2013 tests, compared with long-grain white rice, though FDA's basmati included some brown basmati. Its samples ranged about as widely as long-grain white rice's (see the table above).
You'll hear: Brown rice is healthier than white.
Not settled
It depends what you are counting. Brown rice keeps its bran, which brings more fiber and more of several minerals than unenriched white rice (compare the brown rice and white rice pages); enriched white rice has iron and B vitamins added. It also brings more arsenic, because the arsenic sits in the same bran:
In rice grains, iAs is concentrated in the outer bran layer surrounding the endosperm (Meharg et al., 2008; Sun et al., 2008), and therefore brown rice, (unmilled or unpolished rice that retains its bran) contains more iAs than white rice.
The referee's verdict
- Right, for the worried side: rice tends to take up more arsenic than other crops; brown rice carries more than white; by EFSA's yardstick a cup a day, on its own, gives a margin smaller than the one EFSA says raises a health concern; and EFSA names no amount as low concern.
- Right, for the "pass the rice" side: no food safety body we read tells people to stop eating rice; EFSA's reference point sits inside ordinary European diets; each type's FDA average was under its EU maximum; and cooking rice in plenty of water cuts the arsenic substantially.
- Not settled: whether brown rice's extra fiber and minerals outweigh its extra arsenic. And on rinsing, the sources differ: several studies found it helps white rice somewhat; the FDA found little effect.
Try it with your own plate
Put rice on the plate builder to see the inorganic arsenic in your own portion, and the margin, at your own body weight.
Sources
- EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM) (2024). Update of the risk assessment of inorganic arsenic in food. EFSA Journal 22(1): e8488. doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2024.8488Evidence: Regulatory assessmentRead: Wiley full text (abstract and summary), in Chrome
- US Food and Drug Administration (2013). Analytical Results from Inorganic Arsenic in Rice and Rice Products Sampling (September 2013).Evidence: Measured in food. The FDA's own lab tests of rice on sale in the US.Read: PDF text layer, in Chrome
- US Food and Drug Administration. What You Can Do to Limit Exposure to Arsenic (content current as of 04/27/2022).Evidence: Regulatory assessmentRead: page text, in Chrome
- Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915 of 25 April 2023 on maximum levels for certain contaminants in food, Annex I, section 3.4.Evidence: Regulatory assessmentRead: EUR-Lex text, in Chrome
- Menon M, Dong W, Chen X, Hufton J, Rhodes EJ (2021). Improved rice cooking approach to maximise arsenic removal while preserving nutrient elements. Science of the Total Environment 755: 143341.Evidence: Measured in food. Lab cooking tests on three white and three brown rices.Read: open-access PDF text layer, in Chrome