[annaperch]

​Arsenic is totally bad for you. Even if it doesn't kill you a la the classic "old lace" cocktail, small amounts have been associated with raising the risk for cancer and heart disease. Chronic arsenic ingestion in the young appears to result in dumb children (low IQ and "poor intellectual function"). Because babies and toddlers are smaller than adults, they get a bigger exposure -- based on body weight -- of arsenic from a given serving of food than an adult would.

Now a new study published Feb. 16 in the journal Environmental Health Perspectivessuggests that organic brown-rice syrup, a sweetener used in many organic and gluten-free foods as well as in baby formula, may be a hidden source of the poison, Time reports. Dartmouth College and Dartmouth Medical School researchers examined foods containing organic brown rice syrup and found evidence that some baby formulas, cereal bars and energy shots contained levels of arsenic that were significantly higher than the 10 parts per billion (ppb) federal limit for drinking or bottled water.

In a grim twist, the researchers also point out that there are no U.S. regulatory limits for arsenic in food (although that doesn't make it OK to put arsenic in your cheating boyfriend's iced latte). "In the absence of regulations for levels of arsenic in food, I would certainly advise parents who are concerned about their children's exposure to arsenic not to feed them formula where brown-rice syrup is the main ingredient," Brian Jackson, the lead author of the study, told Consumer Reports.

http://blogs.laweekly.com/squidink/2012/02/arsenic_found_in_organic_brown.php

[annaperch]

​Arsenic is totally bad for you. Even if it doesn't kill you a la the classic "old lace" cocktail, small amounts have been associated with raising the risk for cancer and heart disease. Chronic arsenic ingestion in the young appears to result in dumb children (low IQ and "poor intellectual function"). Because babies and toddlers are smaller than adults, they get a bigger exposure -- based on body weight -- of arsenic from a given serving of food than an adult would.

Now a new study published Feb. 16 in the journal Environmental Health Perspectivessuggests that organic brown-rice syrup, a sweetener used in many organic and gluten-free foods as well as in baby formula, may be a hidden source of the poison, Time reports. Dartmouth College and Dartmouth Medical School researchers examined foods containing organic brown rice syrup and found evidence that some baby formulas, cereal bars and energy shots contained levels of arsenic that were significantly higher than the 10 parts per billion (ppb) federal limit for drinking or bottled water.

In a grim twist, the researchers also point out that there are no U.S. regulatory limits for arsenic in food (although that doesn't make it OK to put arsenic in your cheating boyfriend's iced latte). "In the absence of regulations for levels of arsenic in food, I would certainly advise parents who are concerned about their children's exposure to arsenic not to feed them formula where brown-rice syrup is the main ingredient," Brian Jackson, the lead author of the study, told Consumer Reports.

http://blogs.laweekly.com/squidink/2012/02/arsenic_found_in_organic_brown.php

[witch_power]

Interesting about the cancer. My grandmother used to give my mom (& her sisters) Spring Tonics that contained arsenic. My mom has scattered dark spots on her arms ("raindrop" pigmentation) that her doctor said are caused by the arsenic she consumed as a child.

My mom has had breast cancer, skin cancer, and now it has spread everywhere - brain, liver, lymph nodes, etc. She has lost her father and two sisters to cancer, and her remaining sister is also dying of cancer. I always wondered why there was so much cancer in her family - and perhaps this might be at least part of it?

With such a family history, I would be very concerned about any levels of asenic in formula if I had to use it for my children.