The FDA is warning that lead levels in some samples of commercially available rice may exceed their acceptable standards. They broke the news in their American Chemical Society Meeting and said in some cases there was more than 120 times more lead than acceptable.
For the study, lead researcher Dr. Tsanangurayi Tongesayi of Monmouth University in New Jersey and his team tested imported rice purchased from local shops.
"When we compared them, we realised that the daily exposure levels are much higher than those PTTIs," said Dr. Tongesayi to the BBC. "According to the FDA, they have to be more than 10 times the PTTI levels (to cause a health concern), and our values were two to 12 times higher than those 10 times."
He adds: "So we can only conclude that they can potentially cause harmful effects."
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April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.