Distribution of essential and non-essential elements in rice-based products sold in Australian markets: exposure assessment

Rice-derived food products could be a major dietary source of both essential and non-essential elements to people; hence it is crucial to assess their concentrations to ensure the safe consumption of these products. In this study, six different types of rice-based products collected from Australian markets were analysed for essential and non-essential elements to evaluate the exposure and health risk. The estimated intake (EI) of essential elements from baby rice substantially contributed to the recommended dietary allowance of Fe (27%) and Mn (43%) for infants compared to different rice-based products for children and adults. The EI values of Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb were 0.15 – 1.17, 5.68 – 16.24, 7.47 – 16.24 and 0.40 – 1.21 µg, respectively, from an average recommended serving of different rice-based products. Compared to the tolerable daily intake (TDI) and tolerable weekly intake (TWI) provided by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), both average daily intake (ADI) and average weekly intake (AWI) values of the respective non-essential elements were much lower. Thus, this study results indicated that the rice-based products pose no potential health risk to consumers although regular monitoring is necessary to reduce health risks especially for infants and children.