Low-arsenic rice discovery 'very good news' for millions of
Bangladeshis London, Feb. 13 : Scientists in the UK have
identified aromatic rice from Bangladesh that has far lower
arsenic concentrations than found in non-aromatic rice, and
containing higher amounts of selenium and zinc. Dr. Parvez Haris
from De Montfort University, Leicester, UK said it is a very
important finding since consumption of certain types of aromatic
rice will not only reduce human exposure to arsenic, but will
also increase their intake of zinc and selenium. Dr. Haris and
his team carried out a detailed study on rice from the greater
Sylhet region in the north-east of Bangladesh, which generally
has a lower groundwater arsenic concentration, stated the report
in Biomedical Spectroscopy and Imaging. Several varieties of
Sylheti aromatic rice even had lower arsenic than the well-known
Basmati aromatic rice from India and Pakistan, he said. Dr.
Haris said it is "very good news" for millions of Bangladeshis
who are exposed to high concent