Have a little Arsenic with your Rice.

Lovely. We can now add rice to the list of do not eat foods. Yummy. I have to admit I am not a big rice eater- I am a northern European through and through- potatoes are my starch of choice. Now I have an excuse not to eat rice ever again.

With growing concerns about rice containing potentially harmful levels of arsenic, the US Food and Drug Administration and Consumer Reports both released lab analyses on Wednesday detailing how much arsenic is found in rice and rice products. Both reports — which analyzed 200 samples of rice (brown and white), rice cereals, rice cakes, and rice milk — found that many brands contain more arsenic in a single serving than what the Environmental Protection Agency allows in a quart of drinking water.

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It also named a list of brands that contained the highest levels of inorganic arsenic: “Among all tested rice, the highest levels of inorganic arsenic per serving were found in some samples of Martin Long Grain Brown rice, followed by Della Basmati Brown, Carolina Whole Grain Brown, Jazzmen Louisiana Aromatic Brown, and Whole Foods’ 365 Everyday Value Long Grain Brown,” Consumer Reports said in its analysis.

Do click on that Consumer Reports link. It shows the levels by brand. (Hint- glad I can’t afford to shop at Whole Foods)

Recall also that a short time ago it was arsenic in Apple Juice.

And while we are on the subject of poison food- please be advised Kroger has recalled bagged spinach– Listeria strikes again!

I do wish people would STOP buying bagged salad products. You are being poisoned for the sake of convenience? Anyone who has been paying attention to recalls the last few years knows there is something bad going on with bagged lettuce and spinach. STOP IT! Buy loose spinach or heads of lettuce and cut it up at home. All that going through the chopping machines spreads bacteria around. And DO NOT eat ANY raw spinach at all. Unless you are buying local and know the farmer or growing your own. Listeria is one nasty bug.