High Levels of Cadmium Found in Rice in China

When researchers in China's Guangzhou tested the rice being sold at the market earlier this year they got some worrying results.

Nearly half of the 18 rice samples tested contained excessive levels of cadmium - a carcinogenic metal found in the soil that can wreak havoc on the body's kidneys.

It's believed the rice was grown in nearby Hunan province and processed at small-scale mills.

When the Guangzhou Food and Drug Administration published the results on their website last week, there was understandable outrage from citizens, weary of tainted food scandals.

Liam Cochrane from Radio Australia is speaking to Jonathan Wong, professor of biology from the Hong Kong Baptist University.


“Just a few days ago, the Guangdong government released the news that they sample in the market and around 44.4 per cent of their rice on the market contained high level of cadmium. They're existing current standard in China 0.4 milligram per kilogram  and then people ask where they come from. They found that all these samples mainly coming from the Hunan area. So then what is the major contamination source? No one exactly know where the major source, but we guess mostly due to the mining activity nearby in the non-ferrous metal  mining is quite an important activity in Hunan area. So the mine drainage may contain the contaminated cadmium. As a result the contaminated of the rice paddy field and another possibility is it's mainly coming from the industrial effluent and the use of fertiliser, but I would say that the (?industrial) is the major contaminated source.”
 
And is this the first time worrying levels of cadmium have been found in rice in this area?
 
“No, I don't think so, I think there's some study before already released, why is rice in China is contaminated with cadmium and the last report released was in 2007. An academic survey of rice on six given areas in China and found that 10 per cent of the rice exceeding the allowable level in rice in China. So I would say that this is already a persistent issue in China, but this time it seem a bit high in the market. But, however, based on one single incident, it's really hard to say that suddenly there's a high increase in the level of cadmium or contamination of the rice in China.”
 
And we should point out that it is just 18 rice samples that the Guangzhou Food and Drug Administration tested. That’s a small amount. How serious cadmium can be to human health?
 
“I think cadmium is a really toxic element, that's why allowable levels really low, so the major issue about cadmium is that they accumulate in our kidney, our bones, and then as a result, in the long term, usually the short term, it won't cause a lot of effect, because you need to accumulate a really significant level before you can have any human health effect.”
 
“But however, for a long term exposure, a low level intake in the long run will cause disease in our human body, especially the kidney disease and also you'll have some kind of bone disease, and finally if the level is high enough, it may, it cause cancer in our human bodies.”
 
What advice or action has been given or taken from the Chinese government?
 
“We don't know exactly what the government has done, but I would say this cause some kind of a turmoil in the residents, because they feel whether the rice they're buying is really healthy to be, safe to be taken for their eating. But that's why people are coming to, some say people are coming to Hong Kong to buy the rice available in Hong Kong. Because most of the rice in the market in Hong Kong is mainly coming from Thailand and Vietnam. It's not from China.”
 
So there has been a noticeable increase in the rice being purchased from Hong Kong?
 
“We don't have exact figure, but this is some kind of rumour being running around in South China, that they try to come to Hong Kong to purchase rice, rather than to purchase rice from the local market in China.”