SCIENTIFIC OVERVIEW. Researchers from Sahlgrenska Academy have contributed to a recent EU report confirming that arsenic in food poses risks to human health. In Sweden, a few dozen cases of lung cancer each year can be attributed to this.
Lars Barregård, Professor Emeritus of Clinical Environmental Medicine, is one of the authors of the 400-page report.
“We have reviewed more than 600 epidemiological studies, and have carried out dose-response modeling for those outcomes where there is sufficient evidence of an association with inorganic arsenic intake,” he says. “Some of the studies come from areas in Europe, the US, and South America where there are moderately elevated levels of arsenic in drinking water.”
Arsenic in irrigation
Arsenic is an element that occurs naturally in bedrock and soil. In many countries, water with high levels of arsenic is used to irrigate crops and is absorbed by plants. According to the Swedish Food Agency’s information about arsenic, rice appears to be particularly prone to absorbing and storing high levels.
Arsenic exists in two main forms: organic and inorganic. Inorganic arsenic is the form that is toxic to humans.
The review concludes that there is good evidence that arsenic in food and drink increases the risk of several cancers of the skin, lungs, and bladder. The report from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) also shows that intake of the toxic element through our food increases the risk of both ischemic heart disease and lung disease.
Harmful in small quantities
Even in fairly small quantities, dietary intake of inorganic arsenic is associated with a slightly elevated risk of cancer and several other diseases, according to the report. This probably involves a few dozen cases of lung cancer per year in Sweden, and a few hundred cases of squamous cell skin cancer. As Lars explains:
“Inorganic arsenic is present in many foods, but the main source of intake in Sweden is via rice. The Swedish Food Agency therefore recommends that young children should not consume rice cakes or rice drinks, and that adults should not eat large amounts of rice on a daily basis. However, the arsenic in fish is of a harmless type – you can eat plenty of fish!”
The report was an important source for EFSA’s assessment of the potential risks from exposure to organic arsenic in food.
- You can read the report here: Update of the risk assessment of inorganic arsenic in food | EFSA (europa.eu)
BY: ELIN LINDSTRÖM
