Cooking: Effects on Dietary Exposure to Arsenic from Rice and

Vegetables
MA Rahman, IMM Rahman, and H Hasegawa, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa
University, Kakuma, Kanazawa, Japan
& 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

species of As are not equally toxic to living beings. In-

Abbreviations
organic arsenic (i-As), a term that includes arsenite
As arsenic
(As(III)) and arsenate (As(V)), has been identified as a
DW dry weight
human carcinogen by the International Agency for Re-
FW fresh weight
search on Cancer (IARC). Dietary intake of As and its
IARC International Agency for Research on
subsequent toxicity also depends on the type of food and
Cancer
i-As inorganic arsenic
the way the food is prepared because the bioavailability
t-As total arsenic
of As in cooked and uncooked foods differs significantly.
WHO World Health Organization
In many Asian countries, large segments of the popu-
lation live on subsistence diet of rice grown with arsenic-
contaminated groundwater. This often results in elevated
levels of arsenic in rice compared to other agricultural
products. It has been reported that the As(III) and As(V)
Introduction concentrations in raw rice vary from 27% to 93% and 11%
to 91%, respectively. However, the mean proportion of
Humans are exposed to arsenic (As) from foods, water,
i-As in the rice collected from Bangladesh, Canada, India,
air, and occupational settings. In general, diet is a sig-
Spain, Taiwan, and USA ranged from 24.4% to 73.3%,
nificant source of As exposure, with average intake of
mostly reporting approximately 55.4%. Total arsenic (t-As)
approximately 50 mg day1. Arsenic is found in many
foods at concentrations that usually range between 0.05 concentration in rice and the chemical forms of As vary
and 40 mg g1 dry weight (DW). Total-diet As studies considerably depending on the rice cultivars. Therefore, a
carried out in various countries have shown that fish and t-As determination may be a poor indicator of expected
shellfish are the most significant dietary sources of As, toxicity to humans. In cooked rice, the t-As comes from
accounting for nearly three quarters, depending on the rice grain and cooking water (if the water contains any As).
population, of total intake. High level of As has also been The amount of As absorbed by rice from cooking water is
reported in seaweed and marine bivalves. dependent on the type of rice and the way the rice is
Geogenic As contamination in groundwater has been cooked. Typically, the people of USA and Japan cook rice
reported in some areas of South and Southeast Asian in such a way that it absorbs approximately 100% of its
countries, for example, Bangladesh and West Bengal mass of water during cooking. The people of Bangladesh,
(India). Arsenic contamination in groundwater has also India, and other countries of Southeast Asia use a large
been reported in China, Taiwan, Vietnam, USA, Mexico, excess of water for rice cooking, which may contribute to
Argentina, Chile, and some European countries. Irrigation the absorption of additional As by cooked rice.
with As-contaminated groundwater can be considered as a High levels of As have been reported in vegetables
major event for As deposition in topsoil. Surface soils also and other foodstuffs consumed by populations in areas
become contaminated with arsenic due to the extensive with As pollution. The cooking of vegetables differs
agricultural use of arsenicals (pesticides and insecticides) between countries and localities. Different cooking
in many countries. Whatever the reasons behind the As methods influence As retention by vegetables and, con-
contamination, its elevated level in soils and waters sequently, human exposure to As from it. For example, in
threaten the human health by its assimilation into the preparing vegetable (curry), the South and Southeast
agricultural products. Even though drinking contaminated Asian people use excess water, which may cause retention
water is the main route of As in many countries, con- of additional As from the contaminated water. The peo-
sumption of contaminated food crops and vegetables are ple of rural areas of Lagunera, Mexico have been re-
considered to be another significant route of As intake. ported to boil vegetables using water contaminated with
The toxicity of As and the resulting threat to human As. However, many people of Southeast Asian countries
health is, of course, related to its concentration in foods. consume raw vegetables or slightly grilled/steamed
However, the chemical form(s) of As in foods also de- vegetables, which may reduce the dietary exposure to
termines the level and extent of its toxicity because all As from this source.

828
 Cooking: Effects on Dietary Exposure to Arsenic from Rice and Vegetables 829

Arsenic in Rice mean As level of 0.18 mg g1 DW, with a range from 0.13
to 0.22 mg g1 DW. Arsenic content in rice from the As-
Arsenic-contaminated groundwater has been widely used affected areas of West Bengal (India) shows variations
for rice cultivation in many areas, especially in South ranging between 0.04 and 0.43 mg g1 DW (Table 1).
Asian countries. This has led to As buildup in paddy soils, Thus, populations where rice is a main staple food, rice
and has resulted in approximately 10-fold elevation of As grain can contribute significantly to the dietary exposure
in rice grains. Other than the groundwater, widespread to As. Daily dietary As intakes by the population of
contamination of As in paddy soils and its elevation in Bangladesh and West Bengal (India) from water, rice,
grains have occurred from metal mining in Thailand and vegetables, fish, and other food items have been estimated
China. Even at background concentrations of 0.1– to be 271–406, 52.0–85.0, 51.0–78.0, 0.81–1.17, and 12.3–
0.2 mg As g1 DW, As in rice contributes considerably to 17.1 mg person1 day1, respectively.
As exposure in affected areas. Rice grain collected from
As-contaminated western areas of Bangladesh had As Effect of Cooking on Arsenic Content in Cooked
levels ranging from 0.03 to 1.83 mg g1 DW. Surveys on Rice
the t-As in market rice from Bangladesh, USA, India, and In arsenic-contaminated areas of Bangladesh and West
Europe show that the mean values in USA rice ranges Bengal (India), rice is usually cooked with a substantial
between 0.24 and 0.30 mg g1 DW. European rice has amount of excess water. Research shows that cooking of
rice with deionized water produced no important modi-
Table 1 Arsenic levels in market rice collected from different fications in the t-As and i-As contents (Table 2). The
countries worldwide amount of contaminated water used to complete rice
Country Total As concentration (mg g1 DW) cooking in the traditional style (typical rice:water
Minimum Maximum Mean ratio ¼ 1:5) has been reported to produce a 5–17-fold
a
increase in the t-As content compared to raw rice. In
Bangladesh 0.03 1.83 0.30 another study on rice from an As-contaminated area of
Taiwana o0.10 0.63 0.10
United Statesa,b 0.11 0.46 0.24–0.30
Bangladesh, approximately 10–35% increase in As level
Europec 0.13 0.22 0.18 was found in cooked rice compared to that in raw rice.
Vietnama,d 0.03 0.47 0.21 The additional As was thought to come from cooking
West Bengal, Indiaa,e 0.04 0.43 0.22 water. The increase in As content in rice cooked with
a
Williams PN, Prince AH, Raab A, Hossain SA, Feldmann J, and contaminated water may be due to the fact that As in the
Meharg AA (2005) Variation in arsenic speciation and concentration in cooking water is chelated by rice grains, or that the As
paddy rice related to dietary exposure. Environmental Science and becomes concentrated during the cooking process be-
Technology 39: 5531–5540. cause of evaporation. The As concentration in water used
b
Schoof RA, Yost LJ, Crecelius EA, et al. (1998) Dietary arsenic intake in
for rice cooking is of concern in South Asian countries
Taiwanese district with elevated arsenic in drinking water. Human Ecol
Risk Assess 4: 117–135. (Bangladesh and West Bengal (India)) where As contents
c
Torres-Escribano S, Leal M, Vélez D, and Montoro R (2008) Total and in drinking and cooking water are much higher (up to
inorganic arsenic concentrations in rice sold in Spain, effect of cooking, 130 mg l1) than the maximum allowable limit by the
and risk assessments. Environmental Science and Technology 42(10): World Health Organization (WHO) of 10 mg l1.
3867–3872.
d
Phuong TD, Chuong PV, Khiem DT, and Kokot S (1999) Elemental
content of Vietnamese rice. Part 1. Sampling, analysis and comparison Arsenic Contents in Parboiled and
with previous studies. Analyst 124: 553–560. Nonparboiled Cooked Rice
e
Roychowdhury T, Uchino T, Tokunaga H, and Ando M (2002) Arsenic
and other heavy metals in soils from an arsenic-affected area of West Two types of rice are available for consumption: parboiled
Bengal, India. Chemosphere 49: 605–618. and nonparboiled (Figure 1). Parboiling is commonly

Table 2 Effect of cooking on arsenic contents in ricea

Rice sample Arsenic contents (mg g1 DW)

White rice Whole rice

Total Inorganic Total Inorganic

Raw 0.4170.01 0.1470.01 0.2970.01 0.1370.01

Cooked With deionized water 0.4470.04 0.1470.01 0.2870.02 0.1770.01
Water with 0.5 mg ml1 As(V) 2.8270.04 2.0270.07 2.2570.14 1.8170.09
a
The results are expressed as means7SD of three independent replications.
Source: Data have been cited from Laparra JM, Velez D, Barbera R, et al. (2005) Bioavailability of inorganic arsenic in cooked rice: Practical aspects
for human health risk assessments. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 53: 8829–8833 with permission from the publisher.
830 Cooking: Effects on Dietary Exposure to Arsenic from Rice and Vegetables

Raw rice

Processing of parboiled rice Processing of nonparboiled rice

Soaked in water at
20−32 °C for approximately 36 h

Soaking water Soaked rice was

(discarded) boiled at 100 °C Nonparboiled rice
for 1.5 h was sun-dried to 14%
moisture content

Remaining boiling Parboiled rice was

water was discarded sun-dried to 14%
Husk (discarded) Brown rice
moisture content

Bran polish Polished rice

Husk (discarded) Brown rice
(discarded) (ready for cooking)

Bran polish Polished rice

(discarded) (ready for cooking)

Figure 1 Schematic diagram to show the sequential steps for raw rice processing to produce parboiled and nonparboiled rice.

practiced by the majority population of South and (0.003 mg kg1 FW) and Croatia (0.0004 mg kg1 FW).
Southeast Asian countries, although nonparboiled rice is However, string beans collected from Bangladesh were
also used. However, people of other rice consuming found to have the highest mean As content (between
countries use nonparboiled rice. When cooked with lim- 0.8870.04 and 1.2670.06 mg kg1 FW). Arsenic content
ited water, As content in parboiled and nonparboiled in vegetables of some other countries has also been re-
cooked rice from Bangladesh was found to be 0.8970.07 ported in literatures. Arsenic concentrations in vegetables
and 0.7570.04 mg kg1 DW, respectively. However, the As from Greece have been reported to be lowest in Daucus
contents in parboiled and nonparboiled cooked rice were carota L. (Carrots) (0.02–0.05 mg kg1 DW) and highest in
0.4070.03 and 0.3970.04 mg kg1 DW, respectively, when Cichorium endivia (Endive) (0.13–0.19 mg kg1 DW).
the rice was cooked with excess water. In both cases, raw Reported As contents in vegetables are presented in
rice with As content of 0.5770.04 mg kg1 DW was used. Table 3.
The results showed that As content in rice cooked with
limited water was about twice that of rice cooked with
excess water. Thus, the cooking method (use of excess or Effect of Cooking on Arsenic Content in Cooked
limited water for rice cooking) may be a more significant Vegetables
factor than parboiling in the retention of As in cooked rice. t-As and i-As contents in some common vegetables (raw
The results may be explained by (1) the absorption/ad- and cooked) from Chile have been shown in Table 4.
sorption or chelation of As by cooked rice from con- The t-As content varies between 0.004 mg kg1 FW in
taminated cooking water and (2) transfer of As in the gruel potato and pumpkin boiled with distilled water and
that contains 1.3570.04 and 1.6270.07 mg kg1 DW of As 0.276 mg kg1 FW in spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) boiled
in parboiled and nonparboiled cooked rice, respectively, with contaminated water containing 0.041 mg As l1. The
from the initial content of 0.5770.04 mg kg1 DW in raw high concentration of As in cooked vegetables reflects the
rice. contribution of cooking water as the same spinach boiled
with distilled water had lower As content (0.050 mg kg1
FW).
Arsenic in Vegetables The concentration of i-As varies between 0.003 mg
kg1 FW in pumpkin boiled with distilled water and
The t-As contents in vegetable products typically vary 0.227 mg kg1 FW in spinach boiled with water con-
from o0.004 to over 0.303 mg kg1 fresh weight (FW). taining 0.041 mg As l1 (Table 4). Studies on t-As and
The average As concentration in the vegetables collected i-As contents in raw and cooked vegetables are scanty.
from some As-contaminated areas of Bangladesh was However, reports show that 40% to almost 100% of the
0.28 mg kg1 FW (ranging between 0.25 and 0.38 mg kg1 t-As in vegetable samples is inorganic. Table 4 also
FW), which was higher than that of the United Kingdom shows that almost 100% of the t-As is inorganic in potato,
 Cooking: Effects on Dietary Exposure to Arsenic from Rice and Vegetables 831

Table 3 Arsenic content in raw vegetables from different countries

Vegetables Countries
(scientific name)
Bangladesha Chileb Greecec Indiad USAe
(mg kg1 FW) (mg kg1 DW) (mg kg1 DW) (mg kg1 DW) (ng g1 FW)

Asparagus (Asparagus 0.081 – – –

officinalis)
Bean (Lablab niger) 0.4470.02–0.4070.21 0.022 – 0.04172.10 2.170.26
Bitter gourd (Momordica 0.3770.05 – – – –
charantia)
Bottle gourd (Lagenaria BDL – – 0.03474.00 –
siceraria)
Brinjal (Solanum 0.2470.01–0.2670.07 – – 0.053711.00 –
melongena)
Cabbages (Brassica – 0.016 0.01–0.37 – –
oleracea L.)
Cauliflower (Brassica – 0.014 – 0.070712.00 –
oleracea L.)
Carrots (Daucus – 0.078–0.138 0.02–0.05 0.12172.01 7.372.5
carota L.)
Chilli (Capsicum 0–0.8770.48 – – – –
frutescens)
Endive (Cichorium 0.13–0.19 – –
endivia)
Green papaya (Carica 0.0870.03 – – – –
papaya)
Mint (Mentha viridis) 0.5970.07–0.5670.04 – – – –
Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) – 0.068–0.448 0.04–0.29 – 1.470.25
Leek (Allium – 0.01–0.16 – –
ampeloprasum L.)
Okra (Abelmoschus BDL – – – –
esculentus)
Onion (Allium cepa) – 0.067 – 0.05575.00 9.671.9
Palwal (Trichosanthes BDL – – – –
dioica)
Peas (Pisum sativum) 4.371.1
Potato (Solanum 0.1270.07 0.021–0.102 – 0.08077.22 2.870.62
tuberosum)
Pumpkin leaf (Cucurbita 0.4170.07 – – – –
maxima)
Pumpkin (Cucurbita – 0.004 – – 9.671.4
maxima)
Red amaranth 0.1670.03 – – – –
(Amaranthus
gangeticus)
Radish (Rapnus sativus – – 0.16774.04 –
L.)
Spinach (Spinacia – 0.121 – – 5.171.8
oleracea L.)
String bean (Vigna 1.2670.06–0.8870.04 – – – –
sesquipedalis)
Sweet gourd (pumpkin) 0.1170.01–0.1270.02 – – – –
(Cucurbita maxima)
Tomato (Lycopersicon 0.0870.01–0.5470.31 0.008–0.011 0.05674.00 – 9.972.6
esculentum)
a
Rahman IMM, et al. (2009) (unpublished data).
b
Diaz OP, Leyton I, Munoz O, et al. (2004) Contribution of water, bread, and vegetables (raw and cooked) to dietary intake of inorganic arsenic in a
rural village of Northern Chile. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 52: 1773–1779.
c
Voutsa D, Grimanis A, Samara C (1996) Trace elements in vegetables grown in an industrial area in relation to soil and air particulate matter. Environ
Pollut 94: 325–335.
d
Signes-Pastor AJ, Mitra K, Sarkhel S, et al. (2008) Arsenic speciation in food and estimation of the dietary intake of inorganic arsenic in a rural village
of West Bengal, India. J Agric Food Chem 56(20): 9469–9474.
e
Schoof RA, Yost LJ, Eickhoff J, et al. (1999) A market basket survey of inorganic arsenic in food. Food and Chemical Toxicology 37: 839–846.
Note: Data are presented as mean7SD (n ¼ 3). BDL ¼ below detection limit.
832 Cooking: Effects on Dietary Exposure to Arsenic from Rice and Vegetables

Table 4 Effect of cooking on arsenic content (total and inorganic) in vegetables from Chile
Vegetables (scientific name) Cooking with Arsenic content (mg kg1 FW)

Total Inorganic

Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) Raw 0.081 0.065

Distilled water 0.029 0.014
Contaminated water 0.051 0.054
Bean (Lablab niger) Raw 0.022 0.023
Distilled water 0.007 0.006
Contaminated water 0.057 0.048
Beet root (Beta vulgaris) Raw 0.168 0.160
Distilled water 0.050 0.042
Contaminated water 0.058 0.060
Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L.) Raw 0.014 0.010
Distilled water 0.007 0.004
Contaminated water 0.077 0.060
Carrots (Daucus carota L.) Raw 0.138 0.128
Distilled water 0.038 0.037
Contaminated water 0.066 0.065
Chard (Beta vulgaris) Raw 0.266 0.187
Distilled water 0.099 0.061
Contaminated water 0.107 0.050
Garlic (Allium sativum) Raw 0.030 0.030
Distilled water 0.028 0.027
Contaminated water 0.127 0.115
Maize (Zea mays) Raw 0.152 0.110
Distilled water 0.089 0.070
Contaminated water 0.117 0.107
Onion (Allium cepa) Raw 0.067 0.075
Distilled water 0.074 0.072
Contaminated water 0.078 0.083
Potato (Solanum tuberosum) Raw 0.021 0.024
Distilled water 0.004 0.004
Contaminated water 0.011 0.012
Pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) Raw 0.004 0.003
Distilled water 0.004 0.003
Contaminated water 0.045 0.050
Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) Raw 0.121 0.087
Distilled water 0.050 0.038
Contaminated water 0.276 0.227

Notes: Inorganic arsenic concentration in contaminated water was 0.041 mg l1. The raw vegetables were cooked with distilled and contaminated
water.
Source: Data have been cited from Diaz OP, Leyton I, Munoz O, et al. (2004) Contribution of water, bread, and vegetables (raw and cooked) to dietary
intake of inorganic arsenic in a rural village of Northern Chile. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 52: 1773–1779, with permission of the
publisher.

pumpkin, spinach, onion, maize, and asparagus cooked asparagus, spinach, pumpkin, and cauliflower) that retain
with either distilled water or contaminated water. a considerable quantity of water during cooking have also
Precooking treatments such as peeling, washing, and been reported.
cutting can also reduce the amount of t-As in vegetables.
The presence of sulfur moieties such as allicin, alliin, and
cystine in some vegetables (such as garlic) may also in- Conclusion
crease i-As, which is due to their capability for binding
As. The mechanisms for capturing i-As in vegetables that Recent studies suggest that foods, especially cooked rice
do not have substantial contents of sulfur groups may be and vegetables, are significant sources for dietary ex-
related to the incorporation of water into the vegetables posure to As in many countries especially where do-
during cooking. Hemicellulose is the major constituent in mestic water contains significant amounts of arsenic.
vegetables that may retain water during boiling/cooking, Pretreatment of the foods such as parboiling rice,
and leads to an increase in i-As levels in cooked vege- and washing, peeling, and macerating food with As-
tables. Increases in i-As content of vegetables (such as contaminated water, as well as cooking foods with
 Cooking: Effects on Dietary Exposure to Arsenic from Rice and Vegetables 833

As-contaminated water, can affect the retention of As in arsenic in a rural village of northern Chile. Journal of Agricultural and
cooked rice, vegetables, and other foods. i-As is the major Food Chemistry 52: 1773--1779.
Gomez-Caminero A, Howe P, Hughes, et al. (2001) Environmental
species in cooked rice and vegetables, implying that the Health Criteria 224: Arsenic and Arsenic Compounds. Geneva:
biovailability of arsenic in foods is high. Therefore, World Health Organization.
exposure to As in foods should be a matter of public Laparra JM, Velez D, Barbera R, et al. (2005) Bioavailability of inorganic
arsenic in cooked rice: Practical aspects for human health risk
health concern. assessments. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 53:
8829--8833.
See also: Arsenic Exposure from Seafood Consumption, Meharg AA (2004) Arsenic in rice – understanding a new disaster for
South-East Asia. Trends in Plant Science 9(9): 415--417.
Arsenic in Groundwater of India, Arsenic: Occurrence in Meharg AA and Rahman MM (2003) Arsenic contamination of
Groundwater, Arsenic Pollution of Groundwater in Bangladesh paddy soils: Implications for rice contribution to arsenic
Bangladesh, Indoor Air Pollution Attributed to Solid Fuel consumption. Environmental Science and Technology 37: 229--234.
Rahman MA, Hasegawa H, Rahman MA, et al. (2006) Influence of
Use for Heating and Cooking and Cancer Risk. cooking method on arsenic retention in cooked rice related to dietary
exposure. Science of the Total Environment 370: 51--60.
Rahman MA, Hasegawa H, Rahman MA, et al. (2007) Accumulation of
arsenic in tissues of rice plant (Oryza sativa L.) and its distribution in
Further Reading fraction of rice grain. Chemosphere 69: 942--948.
Ackerman AH, Creed PA, Parks AN, et al. (2005) Comparison of a Schoof RA, Yost LJ, Eickhoff J, et al. (1999) A market basket survey of
chemical and enzymatic extraction of arsenic from rice and inorganic arsenic in food. Food and Chemical Toxicology 37:
assessment of the arsenic absorption from contaminated water by 839--846.
cooked rice. Environmental Science and Technology 39: Sengupta MK, Hossain MA, Mukherjee A, et al. (2006) Arsenic burden
5241--5246. of cooked rice: Traditional and modern methods. Food and
Bae M, Watanabe C, Inaoka T, et al. (2002) Arsenic in cooked rice in Chemical Toxicology 44: 1823--1829.
Bangladesh. Lancet 360: 1839--1840. Smith NM, Lee R, Heitkemper DT, et al. (2006) Inorganic arsenic in
Del Razo LM, Garcia-Vargas GG, Garcia-Salcedo J, et al. (2002) cooked rice and vegetables from Bangladesh households. Science
Arsenic levels in cooked food and assessment of adult dietary intake of the Total Environment 370: 294--301.
of arsenic in the Region Lagunera, Mexico. Food and Chemical Williams PN, Price AH, Raab A, et al. (2005) Variation in arsenic
Toxicology 40: 1423--1431. speciation and concentration in paddy rice related to dietary
Diaz OP, Leyton I, Munoz O, et al. (2004) Contribution of water, bread, exposure. Environmental Science and Technology 39: 5531--5540.
and vegetables (raw and cooked) to dietary intake of inorganic