Its cheap, cheerful and is a staple food for billions of people around the world.

But it turns out that rice could be poisoning humans and causing some awful health conditions.

Researchers have just published a paper which warns that rice can contain ‘high levels’ of arsenic – which is a deadly poison.

It’s stuffed with ‘inorganic’ arsenic, a form of the chemical which poses a particular threat to humans.


This staple food contains a naturally occurring poison that could be extremely bad for you (Photo: Getty)

‘Rice is now the single biggest food source of inorganic arsenic, the more toxic form which can be readily absorbed by the gastrointestinal (GI) tract,’ the Society for Risk Analysis said in a statement.



‘While the toxic symptoms generally take a long time to develop, long-term ingestion, particularly for people with rice-based diets, can result in various health problems, including cancer, heart disease and decreased intelligence.’

A study from Zheng Zhou at Indiana University found that between 63% and 99% of the arsenic in rice is ‘bioaccesible’, which means it can be digested by humans.

‘A majority of the arsenic found in rice is being absorbed into the consumer’s system, where it can build up over time, the Society for Risk Analysis added.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, experts also warned that barbecued meat increases cancer risk and that drinking water could contain lead or other disease-causing nasties.