ASSESSMENT OF INTERNATIONAL PRACTICE OF TOXIC ELEMENTS DETERMINATION IN RICE BY THE METHOD OF MASS SPECTROMETRY WITH INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA

Abstract

Food safety is a major responsibility of public healthcare. Therefore, challenges related to determining toxic elements (As, Cd, Pb, Hg, Al and Sr) in various food products need to be tackled. This paper focuses on systematizing international experience of determining toxic elements in different kinds of rice (they differ as per a type of grain, industrial processing, and geographical origin) by using mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma. Rice accumulates more metals than any other cereal due to its high absorbability and is among primary sources of toxic metals introduction. Median concentrations of such toxic metals as As, Pb and Cd were higher in white rice from Thailand, India and Italy than from the USA. Lead and cadmium concentrations were not higher than levels recommended by the Codex; however, As concentrations in brown rice and one sort of white rice from the USA were higher than the Codex standards. Still, health risks caused by consuming food products which are contaminated with As depend on daily As consumption, as well as on its form and biological availability. Median concentrations of toxic metals were higher in white and brown rice than in other grains. When white rice was washed out before the tests to remove any external contamination, this resulted in decreasing concentrations of such toxic elements as Pb and Cd, by 57% and 46% accordingly. Rice washing involves losing basic elements which make for proper functioning of the body. Additional efforts are required to optimize rice to water ratio in washing in order to minimize substantial losses of basic ingredients and nutrients in washed rice. The research results indicate that it is advisable to eat different kinds of rice or combine it with other cereals in food rations. This can reduce exposure to toxic metals and provide additional quantities of essential elements which are in certain deficiency in a rice-based diet.