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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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.