Concerns about arsenic in rice are unfounded and can be dismissed ('we love arsenic').

Original statement

الرز فيه زرنيخره بيضر ما فيش مشكله يا حبيبي احنا بنحب الزرنيخ

verbatim according to source. Translation by the project; the Arabic wording is authoritative.

Translation

Concerns about arsenic in rice are unfounded and can be dismissed ('we love arsenic').

Origin

Source status

Video transcript (own words)

Attribution

Elawady (machine transcript)

Video

Dr Diaa Al Awady د ضياء العوضي is live! النسيج البيني و مقدمة عن الكلي (Open source)

Published

23 July 2025

Timestamp

1:05:36 (location in the original video’s automatic YouTube caption track; confirms where the words occur, not who speaks)

Attribution uncertainty

Machine transcript; sarcastic remark in a live stream, context: a patient told she should avoid rice because of arsenic.

Claimed mechanism

None.

Claimed health effect

Rice arsenic is irrelevant.

Population concerned

Everyone.

Geographic restriction by Elawady

none found

Diverging source versions

Scientific assessment

Mostly false – Essential parts of the statement are not supported by the evidence or are strongly exaggerated.

Certainty of evidence: moderate – Further research may still affect the assessment.

1. What was claimed?

Rice arsenic is not a concern.

2. What is demonstrably correct?

Normal rice consumption from regulated supply is not acutely dangerous; detection is not the same as harmful exposure. In US cohorts with low-to-moderate rice intake, rice was not associated with CVD (I-GRN-115) or clearly with arsenic-related cancers (I-GRN-118). Egyptian white rice had the lowest median arsenic of 10 countries in a 2009 market survey (0.04 mg/kg total arsenic; I-GRN-117).

3. What is wrong or exaggerated?

Dismissing the issue entirely contradicts EFSA's conclusion of a health concern and the EU maximum levels; rice is a main exposure source.

4. What remains unclear?

Arsenic content of rice consumed in Egypt (not reviewed).

5. Which studies support it?

Partial: I-GRN-117 (low arsenic in Egyptian rice, 2009), I-GRN-115 and I-GRN-118 (no clear CVD or cancer association at US intakes).

6. Which studies contradict it?

I-GRN-06 (EFSA: health concern; rice a main exposure source); I-GRN-116 (rice measurably raises urinary arsenic: half a cup a day comparable to drinking water at the regulatory limit).

7. What applies to Germany and Europe?

EU maximum levels for inorganic arsenic (Reg. (EU) 2023/915, as reproduced in EFSA 2024): non-parboiled milled rice 0.15 mg/kg; parboiled and husked rice 0.25; rice flour 0.25; rice cakes/waffles 0.30; rice for infant food 0.10 mg/kg.

8. What is known about Egypt?

Rice is consumed daily in Egypt, sometimes in large amounts. One multi-country survey (2009) found the lowest median arsenic in Egyptian rice (0.04 mg/kg total arsenic; I-GRN-117), which suggests a smaller concern than for US or European rice, but current Egyptian monitoring data were not found.

9. What practical conclusion is appropriate?

Rice can be eaten, but variety in grains and cooking rice in excess water reduce exposure; rice-based foods for infants should comply with stricter limits.

Assessment details

Rationale for certainty of evidence

EFSA (2024) identifies rice and rice products as main contributors to dietary inorganic arsenic exposure in Europe and concludes that margins of exposure for adults (2 to 0.4 mean; 0.9 to 0.2 high consumers) raise a health concern (I-GRN-06). The EU therefore sets maximum levels (Reg. 2023/915: 0.15 mg/kg white rice; 0.10 mg/kg rice for infant food). Partly fair: for an adult eating normal portions of regulated rice the individual absolute risk is small; the concern is greatest for infants, young children and very high consumers.

Source quality

Sarcastic live-stream remark.

Regional transferability

Arsenic levels vary by origin; Egyptian rice data were not reviewed here.

Individual exceptions

Infants and young children are more vulnerable.

Regional scope of the claim

general (biological/medical)

Last reviewed

26 October 2026 provisional

Scientific evidence in detail

Scientifically refuted – High-quality evidence shows the opposite, or the claim contradicts well-established physiology.

Research question: Is arsenic in rice a negligible concern that can be dismissed?

Study results as reported by the authors. Our assessment follows below.

Open questions

Current Egyptian monitoring of inorganic arsenic in rice.

How deeply was this checked?

5 linked studies: 1 checked in full text (0 of them with a structured risk-of-bias assessment), 4 on the basis of the abstract, 0 bibliographically only. No formal assessment with two independent reviewers and no independent human expert review has taken place yet.

Last scientific review: 26 October 2026

In plain language

Rice naturally takes up arsenic from soil and water. The European Food Safety Authority says rice is a main source of arsenic in the diet and that current exposure is a health concern, especially for young children. The EU has legal limits for arsenic in rice. Eating rice normally is not dangerous in the short term, but laughing off the issue is not justified.

Studies on this claim

Regional context

Germany / EU

EU maximum levels for inorganic arsenic (Reg. (EU) 2023/915, as reproduced in EFSA 2024): non-parboiled milled rice 0.15 mg/kg; parboiled and husked rice 0.25; rice flour 0.25; rice cakes/waffles 0.30; rice for infant food 0.10 mg/kg.

Egypt

Rice is consumed daily in Egypt, sometimes in large amounts. One multi-country survey (2009) found the lowest median arsenic in Egyptian rice (0.04 mg/kg total arsenic; I-GRN-117), which suggests a smaller concern than for US or European rice, but current Egyptian monitoring data were not found.

• Food-safety governance and official controls
• Pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables on the EU/German market (incl. imports from Egypt)
• Pesticide residues in produce sold on the Egyptian domestic market
• Antibiotic (veterinary drug) residues in poultry meat and eggs
• Antimicrobial use in food animals and antibiotic growth promoters
• Hormones in poultry, meat, milk and farmed fish
• Dioxins, PCBs and PFAS in eggs and other animal foods
• Aflatoxin M1 in milk and dairy products
• Aflatoxins in groundnuts (peanuts)
• Heavy metals in fish
• Farmed fish (aquaculture): drugs, water source and controls
• Import controls and the meaning of RASFF notifications for Egyptian products

What applies in my country?

General scientific assessment

Mostly false Rice arsenic is a recognised, regulated long-term concern, not something to dismiss.

The following areas of food safety are relevant to this statement:

• Pesticides and pesticide residues
• Veterinary medicines and antibiotics
• Hormonal growth promoters
• Contaminants (heavy metals, PFAS, PCBs, dioxins, nitrate)
• Mycotoxins (mould toxins)

Eggs · Poultry · Dairy · Fish and seafood · Red meat · Fruit and vegetables · Cereals and rice

Limits: legal rules describe what is allowed, not what every single food contains. Measurement data come from samples and are meaningful only together with their method details.

Country of residence or purchase Compare with another country

References

1. Rice consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease: results from a pooled analysis of 3 U.S. cohorts.. Muraki I et al.. Am J Clin Nutr 2015 · PMID 25527760 · DOI 10.3945/ajcn.114.087551
2. Association between rice consumption and risk of cancer incidence in the California Teachers Study.. Sanchez TR et al.. Cancer Causes Control 2020 · PMID 32974796 · DOI 10.1007/s10552-020-01350-9
3. Update of the risk assessment of inorganic arsenic in food.. EFSA CONTAM Panel. EFSA J 2024 · PMID 38239496 · DOI 10.2903/j.efsa.2024.8488
4. Rice consumption contributes to arsenic exposure in US women.. Gilbert-Diamond D et al.. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2011 · PMID 22143778 · DOI 10.1073/pnas.1109127108
5. Geographical variation in total and inorganic arsenic content of polished (white) rice.. Meharg AA et al.. Environ Sci Technol 2009 · PMID 19350943 · DOI 10.1021/es802612a