Clinical Pharmacist and Master’s student in Clinical Pharmacy with research interests in pharmacovigilance, behavioral interventions in mental health, and AI applications in clinical decision support. Experience includes digital health research with Bloomsbury Health (London) and pharmacovigilance practice in patient support programs. Published work covers drug awareness among healthcare providers, postpartum depression management, and patient safety reporting. 
Clinical Pharmacist and Master’s student in Clinical Pharmacy with research interests in pharmacovigilance, behavioral interventions in mental health, and AI applications in clinical decision support. Experience includes digital health research with Bloomsbury Health (London) and pharmacovigilance practice in patient support programs. Published work covers drug awareness among healthcare providers, postpartum depression management, and patient safety reporting. What was studied
This University of Sheffield study evaluated PBA arsenic reduction in rice by testing a “parboiling with absorption” cooking workflow designed for home kitchens and comparing it with common preparation approaches such as rinsing and other water-based cooking styles. The central measurement goal was how much naturally occurring arsenic could be removed from cooked rice while preserving micronutrients, because arsenic is water-soluble and rice is typically grown in flooded systems that promote uptake. The method described involves briefly parboiling rice in pre boiled water for five minutes, draining and replacing the water, then finishing cooking at lower heat so the rice absorbs the remaining water.
Who was studied
No human participants were studied. Instead, the experimental “subjects” were brown rice and white rice prepared under different cooking conditions to quantify changes in arsenic and micronutrient retention after cooking. The article emphasizes that arsenic tends to concentrate in the bran layer, making brown rice generally higher in arsenic than white rice, while milling to produce white rice can substantially reduce nutrients. The study therefore focused on cooked rice outcomes relevant to vulnerable consumers, explicitly highlighting infants and children as priority groups for risk reduction messaging, but without reporting any clinical testing or biomonitoring in people.
Most important findings
Across rice types, PBA arsenic reduction in rice achieved large arsenic decreases while avoiding the nutrient losses that can occur with “excess-water” cooking. The results are framed as directly actionable for household food safety, especially for infant and child meals, while also underscoring remaining uncertainties such as performance with different regional rice varieties and in places where water quality is poor.
| Critical point | Details |
|---|---|
| Arsenic removal magnitude | The method reportedly removed over 50% of naturally occurring arsenic in brown rice and 74% in white rice, outperforming rinsing alone as described in the summary. |
| Nutrient retention | The recommended “home-friendly” process showed no loss of micronutrients for both brown and white rice in the study summary, addressing a key drawback of cooking in excess water. |
| Practical, standardized procedure | PBA is described as: pre-boil water → parboil rice 5 minutes → drain/refresh water → cook on low heat to absorption, which is simple enough to be protocolized for consumer guidance and industry SOPs. |
| Risk framing for certification programs | The researchers emphasize infants/children as highly vulnerable and explicitly recommend the method for them, aligning with HMTC-style risk communication for sensitive subpopulations. |
| Relevance to regulatory exceedances | The context given is prior Sheffield research suggesting a substantial share of UK rice exceeded European Commission arsenic limits for rice intended for infants/young children, motivating mitigation at the preparation stage. |
| Key limitations highlighted | The team calls for further research on arsenic removal where water quality is poor and across regional rice varieties, signaling that performance and safety claims may not generalize uniformly without validation. |
Key implications
For HMTC, PBA arsenic reduction in rice supports guidance that complements regulatory maximum levels by reducing exposure at point-of-preparation, especially for infant and child products. Certification language could encourage validated cooking instructions, require method-specific performance verification across rice types, and account for water-quality sensitivity where arsenic or other contaminants may be introduced via cooking water. Industry can apply PBA-style SOPs in foodservice and packaged-meal directions, while research gaps remain around diverse cultivars, contaminated-water settings, and arsenic speciation outcomes. Practical recommendations include standardized consumer instructions, targeted messaging for vulnerable groups, and verification studies tied to regional supply chains.
Citation
Menon M, Dong W, Chen X, Hufton J, Rhodes EJ. Improved rice cooking approach to maximise arsenic removal while preserving nutrient elements. Science of The Total Environment. 2021;755 (Pt 2):143341. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143341
Arsenic is a naturally occurring metalloid that ranks first on the ATSDR toxic substances list. Inorganic arsenic contaminates water, rice and consumer products, and exposure is linked to cardiovascular disease, cognitive deficits, low birth weight and cancer. HMTC’s stringent certification applies ALARA principles to protect vulnerable populations.
