Make sure your rice isn't from the mainland China - Hong Kong standard

[Mech]

Three samples of mainland rice were found to contain excessive levels of a harmful metal, cadmium, tests by the Consumer Council showed.
The council tested 34 samples of white rice and 10 of brown rice, collected between April and September.

While one had 0.223 milligrams of cadmium per kilogram, more than double the legal limit of 0.1mg per kg, two other samples had 0.149 and 0.143 mg of cadmium respectively

Ron Hui Shu-yuen, council publicity and community relations committee chairman, said yesterday daily consumption of three bowls of rice that is high in cadmium could seriously damage a person's health.

Cadmium is a heavy metal widely used in electroplating and the manufacture of batteries.

The metal cannot be washed out from rice.

Two samples of rice - Golden Wave and Jin Feng Nian Chang Xiang Yu Rice - have since been taken off the market.

The producer of Chang Xiang Yu Rice, China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corp - one of China's state- owned food processing holding companies - which had 0.140mg of cadmium - posted on its website last July that the rice was specially made to cater to Hong Kong tastes.

The other rice high in cadmium, Golden Way, a popular brand in Hong Kong, is still available.

Its distributor said the rice passed the mainland test and queried the sample size tested by the council.

Hui said the council has informed the Centre for Food Safety to follow up on its findings.

Although there is no evidence to suggest that cadmium has a significant genotoxic and carcinogenic potential when consumed, health experts warn that a prolonged intake may adversely affect the kidneys.

In May, Guangdong residents were shocked when told that rice products had been contaminated with excessive cadmium.

Mainland authorities later played down the scare saying the tested samples were insufficient.

At the time, consumers were advised to also eat other cereals, noodles, oatmeal and bread to avoid excessive exposure to certain chemicals.

The council also noted that the retail price of rice has increased 80 percent over the past 10 years.

It said the average import price of Thai, Chinese, and Australian rice went up by 163 percent, 138 percent and 116 percent respectively in a decade.

Source: High levels of metal found in popular mainland rice - The Standard