Embedded health risk from arsenic in globally traded rice

• Main Author: Nunes, Luís
• Publication Date: 2022
• Other Authors: Li, Gang, Chen, Wei-Qiang, Meharg, Andrew A., O’Connor, Patrick, Zhu, Yong-Guan
• Format: Article
• Language: eng
• Source: Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP)
• Download full: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/18482
• topic: Rice; Arsenic; Embedded health risks; International trade

International food trade is fundamental to globalfood security but with often negative consequences in theproducing country. We propose a method of quantifyingflows ofinorganic arsenic (iAs) and embedded increased lifetime cancerrisks (EHR) at a global scale, where negative impacts are felt onthe importing country. Computations were made for 153countries. Vietnam exports the most iAs embedded in rice (796kg/year) followed by India (788 kg/year), Thailand (485 kg/year),and the United States (323 kg/year). We show that continentalChina, Indonesia, and Malaysia have the highest imports of iAs(292, 174, and 123 kg/year, respectively). Bangladesh rankshighest in EHR followed by Vietnam and Cambodia (150, 141, and 111 per 100,000, respectively). Countries that dependexclusively on imported rice are importing a substantial amount of risk, as, e.g., Kiribati and Solomon Islands (57 and 53 per100,000, respectively). We discuss the potential policy options for reducing population dietary health risks by well-balancedapportioning of rice sources. This study targets policy design solutions based on health gains, rather than on safe levels of the riskfactor alone.