The good news is that, according to PhilRice – the Philippine Rice Research Institute – locally grown rice in the Philippines is safe from arsenic.
The bad news is that the Philippines is the world’s largest importer of rice, and most of it comes from countries that have arsenic in the groundwater, especially Vietnam.
But there are a couple of wrinkles in this story: Rice from northern Vietnam contains more arsenic than rice from the south, and shoppers rarely know where imported rice was grown. Also, climate change is increasing the levels of arsenic in rice from both regions.
Because local rice is pretty much arsenic free, the Philippine government’s Food and Drug Administration does not have a standard for levels of arsenic in rice.
The Philippines consumes approximately 16.4 million metric tons of rice annually, with 4.8 million metric tons – or 29.2 percent – being imported. And the proportion of imported rice is growing.
The Bureau of Plant Industry said the amount of rice imported in 2024 was 30 percent more than the 3.61 million metric tons recorded in 2023.
Import volumes vacillate from year to year due to local supply, global prices, trade policies and domestic events like typhoons, especially here in Catanduanes, where annual rice production is less than demand even under normal circumstances.
Vietnam was by far the leading supplier of rice to the Philippines in 2024, with 3.56 million metric tons, or 75 percent of the total. Other major suppliers include Thailand, Pakistan, Myanmar and India. Minor suppliers are China, Japan and Italy.
Vietnam, Thailand and India all have surplus rice production, and these three nations dominate the global rice export market.
It is unlikely that there will be a significant increase in domestic rice production anytime soon. Unlike Vietnam’s vast Red River Delta in the north and its Mekong River Delta in the south, the Philippines lacks the huge river deltas and alluvial plains that are ideal for large-scale rice farming. This is because the Philippines, by contrast, is mountainous, so rice-growing is limited to narrow coastal regions and to rice terraces in the Cordillera region of Luzon.
Imported rice is thus a fact of life in the Philippines, and this will persist into the near future.
As for government monitoring of arsenic levels in rice, even though the Philippines does not have a standard, Europe provides guidance through the European Commission.
The European Commission is the executive branch of the European Commission. In this role, it proposes legislation to regulate foodstuffs, and this includes acceptable levels for arsenic in rice.
Several nations either have adopted the commission’s standards or have adjusted existing ones. And some rice-exporting nations have strengthened arsenic monitoring to comply with European Union importing regulations.
Aside from the European Commission, there is another international organization that sets food standards. It is the Codex Alimentarius Commission, established jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization.
The maximum level for arsenic in rice set by the European Commission is 0.15 mg/kg, or milligrams per kilo, for polished white rice.
The Codex Alimentarius set a limit of 0.20 mg/kg for polished white rice.
China also has a standard of 0.20 mg/kg.
Dozens of tests reveal that in Vietnam, rice from the Mekong Delta can contain up to 0.699 mg/kg, with a median value of 0.073 mg/kg, while rice from the Red River Delta can contain up to 0.469 mg/kg, with a median value of 0.221 mg/kg.
The “median value” is the average of all tests.
Arsenic is a metalloid element with the symbol As on the periodic table. Called “The King of Poisons”, it is odorless, tasteless and difficult to detect in an autopsy. Arsenic enters the human body in two forms — as organic arsenic in seafood and as inorganic arsenic in food crops. Organic arsenic is generally harmless because it is filtered by the kidneys and expelled through urine.
Inorganic arsenic, on the other hand, accumulates in body tissues, especially the skin, hair, nails, the liver, kidneys and lungs.
The national average rice consumption is 120-130 kilograms per person annually. Assuming that an adult Filipino consumes one-third of a kilo of rice per day, and assuming the rice is from Vietnam’s Red River Delta and contains 0.221 to 0.469 mg/kg of arsenic, then consuming 10-30 kilograms in a short period can lead to serious health effects.
These effects develop over months or years. They include cancer, heart disease and neurological disorders — numbness or tingling in hands and feet, loss of coordination, memory loss, difficulty concentrating, and moodiness.
In a pregnant woman, arsenic toxicity can lead to underdevelopment of the brain of the fetus.
It can be difficult to spot imported rice in the public markets in the Philippines. If there is any doubt, one should ask the vendor about the source.
The government has a national standard on selling rice that requires sellers to indicate if the rice is domestic or imported, but some retailers do not comply. Also, some sellers blend domestic and imported rice to increase profits.
Climate change affects the amount of arsenic in rice because rising temperatures increase evaporation, and this causes increased concentration of arsenic in the soil. Also, rising sea levels cause saltwater intrusion, especially in the Mekong Delta, and this enhances the solubility of arsenic.
To minimize risk, scientists recommend selecting polished white rice over brown rice and thoroughly rinsing rice before cooking.
Bryce McIntyre, PhD, resides in San Andres. He holds a doctoral degree from Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, USA.