Reducing the cadmium, inorganic arsenic and dimethylarsinic acid content of rice through food-safe chemical cooking pre-treatment

Cadmium, inorganic arsenic and, potentially, dimethyl arsenic acid are carcinogens widely elevated in rice. Here it was identified that the food-safe and common cadmium chelator citric acid efficiently removed cadmium from intact grain via pre-soaking procedure, while also reducing arsenic species. A twostep pre-soaking stage was developed whereby rice was first incubated, at ambient temperature, in 1 M citric acid for 12 h, and then in 1 M calcium carbonate for another 12 h, the latter step to neutralize pH, followed by cooking. When 10 different individual types of rice were processed in such a way this resulted in removal rates of 79% for cadmium, 81% for inorganic arsenic and a 66% for DMA. The technology is particularly suitable for bulk food processing and could be deployed in the most cadmium and arsenic impacted regions where rice is a staple.