FDA LOOKS AT HEALTH AFFECTS OF ARSENIC IN RICE

FROM:  U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION 
FDA Explores Impact of Arsenic in Rice

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has taken a major step towards learning whether levels of arsenic in rice and rice products pose a risk to public health.

The agency has collected a total of more than 1,300 samples of rice and rice products and has tested them for both total arsenic and inorganic arsenic, the more toxic form. FDA scientists have determined that the levels of inorganic arsenic found in the samples are too low to cause immediate health damage.

In the rice grains, the average levels of inorganic arsenic ranged from 2.6 to 7.2 micrograms per serving, with instant rice at the low end of the range and brown rice at the high end. In rice products, the average levels of inorganic arsenic ranged from 0.1 to 6.6 micrograms per serving, with infant formula at the low end of the range and rice pasta at the high end. (A microgram is one-millionth of a gram; serving sizes varied with the product types.)

But what about the long-term impact? After all, rice is a food that people eat over the course of a lifetime.

The next step for FDA will be to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment, explains Suzanne C. Fitzpatrick, Ph.D., the senior advisor for toxicology in FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN). This analysis of the health risk associated with eating rice and rice products will be the foundation of future FDA actions.

"These are the next steps. To look at exposure levels, to analyze the risk, and determine how to minimize that risk for the overall safety of consumers, including vulnerable groups like children and pregnant women," says Fitzpatrick.

"We must take one step at a time and stay true to our methodological approach," says Michael R. Taylor, J.D., deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine. "We can't get ahead of the science."

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Why Rice?
"One of the things we need to emphasize is that arsenic is a naturally occurring contaminant, and because it's in soil and water, it's going to get into food," says Fitzpatrick. "It's not something that we can just pull off the market."

Arsenic is a chemical element distributed in the Earth's crust. Human activities such as fuel burning, mining and the use of arsenic compounds in pesticides have also added arsenic to the environment. But Fitzpatrick says that even if you stripped all human contributions, there would still be arsenic in food.

And rice is particularly vulnerable. "Rice is grown in water and takes in arsenic. You're going to see greater levels in rice than in other foods," she says.

FDA has been monitoring arsenic levels in foods for more than 20 years, but Fitzpatrick says there have been advances in testing that allow FDA to get much more detailed information.

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The Story So Far
FDA consumer safety officers collected samples from retail outlets across the country. In addition to rice itself, these samples cover most types of rice-based foods in the American diet, including cereals, cakes, beverages, snack bars and infant and toddler foods.

These samples were then analyzed in FDA labs, in addition to some labs contracted by the agency to do this work. Fitzpatrick says the laboratory workers were required to undergo training in new chemical testing called "speciation." This testing enables the labs to look beyond just organic vs. inorganic to all the different species of arsenic present in the samples.

"It's a very complicated process and it involves a lot of people," Fitzpatrick says. "We're working very hard to get the best possible scientific answers."

Meanwhile, FDA was studying arsenic in other ways. Researchers examined studies of populations exposed to high levels of arsenic in such countries as Chile, Taiwan and Bangladesh. They looked at rates of cancer and diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular illnesses.

The researchers had to consider how the data about these highly exposed cultures would apply to American consumers.

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What's Next?
Next is the risk assessment. All of this information will now be considered by FDA risk managers, Fitzpatrick says. These experts will look at the hazards that arsenic presents in rice products and the degrees to which people are exposed.

The risk assessment teams will also consider if certain segments of the population are more vulnerable because of their lifestyle (such as ethnic groups that eat a lot of rice) or life stage (pregnant women and children).

They will then assess the public health risk from arsenic in rice.

The risk assessment will take a number of months to complete. After an expert review, the assessment will be available for public comment. "This is an important issue for us," say Fitzpatrick. "Consumers need the best information that we can get them."

FDA is working with federal partners—including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—as well as with industry scientists, consumer groups and others to further study the issue of arsenic in rice and evaluate ways to reduce exposure, such as through changes in growing or manufacturing practices.

And FDA is conducting additional sampling to broaden its data on the levels of arsenic in all infant and toddler products.

This article appears on FDA's Consumer Update page, which features the latest on all FDA-regulated products.

Sept. 6, 2013

G8 LEADER'S STATEMENT ON THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

Credit:  Wikimedia.  
FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Statement by G8 Leaders on the Global Economy
May 19, 2012
Our imperative is to promote growth and jobs.
The global economic recovery shows signs of promise, but significant headwinds persist.
Against this background, we commit to take all necessary steps to strengthen and reinvigorate our economies and combat financial stresses, recognizing that the right measures are not the same for each of us.

We welcome the ongoing discussion in Europe on how to generate growth, while maintaining a firm commitment to implement fiscal consolidation to be assessed on a structural basis. We agree on the importance of a strong and cohesive Eurozone for global stability and recovery, and we affirm our interest in Greece remaining in the Eurozone while respecting its commitments. We all have an interest in the success of specific measures to strengthen the resilience of the Eurozone and growth in Europe. We support Euro Area Leaders’ resolve to address the strains in the Eurozone in a credible and timely manner and in a manner that fosters confidence, stability and growth.

We agree that all of our governments need to take actions to boost confidence and nurture recovery including reforms to raise productivity, growth and demand within a sustainable, credible and non-inflationary macroeconomic framework. We commit to fiscal responsibility and, in this context, we support sound and sustainable fiscal consolidation policies that take into account countries’ evolving economic conditions and underpin confidence and economic recovery.

To raise productivity and growth potential in our economies, we support structural reforms, and investments in education and in modern infrastructure, as appropriate. Investment initiatives can be financed using a range of mechanisms, including leveraging the private sector. Sound financial measures, to which we are committed, should build stronger systems over time while not choking off near-term credit growth. We commit to promote investment to underpin demand, including support for small businesses and public-private partnerships.

Robust international trade, investment and market integration are key drivers of strong sustainable and balanced growth. We underscore the importance of open markets and a fair, strong, rules-based trading system. We will honor our commitment to refrain from protectionist measures, protect investments and pursue bilateral, plurilateral, and multilateral efforts, consistent with and supportive of the WTO framework, to reduce barriers to trade and investment and maintain open markets. We call on the broader international community to do likewise. Recognizing that unnecessary differences and overly burdensome regulatory standards serve as significant barriers to trade, we support efforts towards regulatory coherence and better alignment of standards to further promote trade and growth.

Given the importance of intellectual property rights (IPR) to stimulating job and economic growth, we affirm the significance of high standards for IPR protection and enforcement, including through international legal instruments and mutual assistance agreements, as well as through government procurement processes, private-sector voluntary codes of best practices, and enhanced customs cooperation, while promoting the free flow of information. To protect public health and consumer safety, we also commit to exchange information on rogue internet pharmacy sites in accordance with national law and share best practices on combating counterfeit medical products.