Dr. Umar Aitsaam

This consultation proposed adopting 0.2 ppm inorganic arsenic in polished rice as Singapore’s maximum limit, harmonized with Codex, enforced through import controls, and scoped specifically to polished rice categories. It highlights the need for inorganic-arsenic-focused testing and supply-chain controls.

This brief documents FDA’s finalized guidance setting a 100 ppb inorganic arsenic action level for infant rice cereal and shows market progress toward compliance, supporting ingredient-focused controls and verification testing suitable for certification program design.

Dietary aluminium safety was evaluated across foods, water, additives, and contact materials. EFSA set a TWI of 1 mg/kg bw/week and concluded high consumers—especially children—can exceed it. Key contributors were cereals, vegetables, beverages, and some infant formulae.

This study tracked iron, lead, cadmium, and tin migration from lacquered tinplate into canned chickpeas under varied temperatures and storage times, showing iron plateauing by ~50 days and lead accelerating after ~50 days, with container quality and denting increasing risk.

This review on chromium exposure limits distinguishes chromium(VI) as the key toxic and carcinogenic form, summarizes exposure routes, and compiles enforceable benchmarks for drinking water (0.1 mg/L total chromium) and workplace air (0.005 mg/m³ chromium(VI)) to inform HMTC certification criteria.

nickel-risk-assessment updates EFSA’s nickel guidance, setting a 13 µg/kg bw/day TDI and an acute MOE approach for sensitised individuals. Highest certification concern clusters in infants/children at high-percentile exposure and in high-nickel food categories.

Total Diet Study heavy metals FY2018-FY2020 data show wide, matrix-driven differences in arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury detects across foods. These distributions help HMTC set category-specific limits, define method performance needs, and prioritize surveillance for rice, nut products, and seafood.

Lead in gluten-free flours was frequently detected, with several products exceeding a 0.2 mg/kg Pb benchmark and one hemp flour showing very high Pb. Cadmium was usually low but one pea flour was elevated. Brand-level variability supports lot-based HMTC certification testing.

White long-grain rice can contain trace heavy metals from soil and irrigation water. Inorganic arsenic is the most consistently measured metal in rice, while cadmium and lead may also occur at low levels. Levels vary by origin, rice type, and cooking method, and regulations limit key contaminants.

This study on PBA arsenic reduction in rice reports that a simple parboil-and-absorb method cuts arsenic by >50% in brown rice and 74% in white rice while retaining micronutrients, offering practical exposure reduction guidance relevant to infant and child risk management.