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Long Grain Rice Tested for Arsenic

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What rice products can you safely feed your family that have been tested for toxic arsenic, the most common contaminant? Mamavation accepted rice donations from women across the United States and sent them to an independent EPA-certified laboratory to test for arsenic, lead, cadmium & mercury. This consumer study will report how the rice brands we sent to the laboratory performed, as shown at the bottom of this post. You’ve trusted Mamavation to bring you investigations like (1)safest organic all-purpose flours tested for glyphosate, (2) safest teas tested for PFAS “forever chemicals”, (3) safest coffee from pesticides & PFAS, & (4) safest cooking oils tested for phthalates. Now join us for our latest consumer study on rice and see which rice brands are the safest from arsenic.

Disclosure: This consumer study is released in partnership with Environmental Health News. Donations were provided by Environmental Health News and Mamavation community members. Note that Mamavation has only “spot-checked” the industry and thus we cannot make predictions about brands and products that we have not tested. Products and manufacturing aides can change without notice so buyer beware. This post contains affiliate links, with most to Amazon, which means Mamavation will receive a portion of those sales and we will use that to pay ourselves back for the testing. You can also give a tax-deductible donation to our consumer studies here through Environmental Health Sciences. All Mamavation testing data is proprietary. If you’re interested in referencing our data on your website or app, please reach out to discuss licensing agreements. Copyright © 2026 Mamavation — All Rights Reserved

Long Grain Rice Tested for Arsenic & Lead -- Guide 2

Mamavation Found Arsenic, Lead, & Cadmium in Rice

How much arsenic is in a typical cup of rice? Let’s find out. Previous studies have found high levels of arsenic in most rice products, so we created a rice consumer study tailored to the exact needs of Mamavation community members. Mamavation sent 56 rice & rice noodle products to an EPA-certified laboratory to test for total arsenic, lead, cadmium, & mercury. Because rice is the most significant source of arsenic (other than drinking water) that most Americans consume daily, we relied on donations from our audience to test exactly what they were already using.

Jasmine rice, basmati rice, brown rice, long-grain rice, parboiled rice, sushi rice, heirloom rice, forbidden rice, & ramen rice noodles were all sent to the laboratory and were found to contain various levels of arsenic and other heavy metals. Here are some of the main findings:

  • 100% of rice samples contained detectable total arsenic. That’s 56 out of 56 rice products. One wheat product (Orzo) had no detectable total arsenic.
  • Rice arsenic levels ranged from 0.013 ug/g to 0.289 ug/g total arsenic. This can also be described as 13 to 289 parts per billion (ppb).
  • The average rice product contamination was 113 total arsenic. 
  • Highest Arsenic Products: Mamavation sent two products with over 10 mcg of total arsenic per 45 mg of rice for further testing of inorganic arsenic. They came back with concerning levels of inorganic arsenic– 175 ppb and 222 ppb total inorganic arsenic. These samples were from China, Heilongjiang Province, and Louisiana.
  • Geography of Highest Arsenic: Rice products with the highest total arsenic were from China, Thailand, Louisiana, Texas, & South Carolina.
  • Geography of Lowest Arsenic: Rice products with the lowest total arsenic were from California, India, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, & China.

Linda S. Birnbaum, Scientist Emeritus and Former Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and National Toxicology Program & Scholar in Residence at Duke University, Adjunct Professor at the University of North Carolina, & Yale University, had this to say after she reviewed this consumer study: “Pay close attention to how much arsenic is in your rice if you are raising young children or are pregnant. Mamavation has made this easy for you to navigate with its rice testing. Overall, this is a big problem for women who are pregnant, feeding small children, and people who consume lots of rice. So if you eat lots of rice, it’s best to opt for safer brands or types of rice lower in arsenic.”

Organic Jasmine brown rice seed in wooden bowl with spoon, Thai Rice

Health-Related Impacts Linked to Overconsumption of Arsenic

Arsenic is a carcinogen that, with chronic exposure, is linked to bladder, lung, and skin cancers. Its most toxic form, inorganic arsenic, is found in the environment and around industrial processes. Early-life exposures to inorganic arsenic in utero are especially dangerous. Here are some additional health-related impacts linked to overconsumption of arsenic.

For most of the world, exposure to arsenic is through contaminated groundwater. Inorganic arsenic is naturally present at high levels in groundwater in Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Chile, China, India, Mexico, Pakistan, the United States of America, and Vietnam.  Acute poisoning results in vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, followed by numbness and tingling of the extremities, muscle cramping, and even death, in extreme cases. Children are especially vulnerable to arsenic, and in such rare cases, they are referred to a medical toxicologist, Poison Control Center, or Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit for possible chelation therapy. You can check the arsenic levels in your public water district here, through the Environmental Working Group’s Tapwater Database.

Brown Rice Tested for Arsenic & Lead -- Guide

How to Lower Arsenic Exposure for Children

If you are pregnant or caring for small children, lowering your exposure to arsenic is important. There are many things you can do, and we would love to help you get started!

Basmati Rice inside a stainless steel bowl

Types of Rice — What We Tested

There are two main types of rice: Indica and Japonica. Indica rice, better known as long-grain rice, such as Basmati and Jasmine rice, is long and slim. Japonica rice is a medium to short-grain rice and is stickier, shorter, or rounder. Wild rice is not true rice because it comes from a grass family, but we know you eat it so we won’t be splitting hairs here. Here are the types of rice we tested, broken into categories:

  • Basmati Rice — Basmati rice is a long-grained rice with a nutty flavor and aroma. This type of rice becomes very fluffy when cooked and is used in South Asian and Middle Eastern cuisines.
  • Jasmine Rice — Jasmine rice is another long-grained rice with a floral scent and slightly sweet flavor, native to Southeast Asia. Jasmine rice from Thailand is also known as “Thai Horn Mali”.
  • Brown Rice — Brown rice is a whole-grain rice containing the rice kernel, including the germ and the endosperm. This rice is higher in fiber. Technically, any other rice that maintains its structure can be brown rice. Brown rice typically has more arsenic than white rice because of the hull.
  • Black “Forbidden” Rice — considered a whole grain because it has retained its bran, germ, and endosperm. It’s very dark in color and less popular in the US than other rice categories.
  • Wild Rice — This rice has more fiber and protein than other rices. The colors can vary.
  • Rice Noodles — We included this category for noodles made from rice. Some products are transparent about what type of rice they use, while others are not.
  • Parboiled — This rice is partially cooked in the husk, and then the husk is removed. This is also referred to as “easy cook” rice.
  • Sushi & Other Short-Grain Rice — This category is a general section where we have to stuff many additional types of rice, like sushi rice and sticky rice.

Basmati Rice with a wooden spoon sitting on top

How Arsenic Finds Its Way Into Rice & Rice Cereals

How does arsenic contaminate rice? The answer to that question is both complicated and straightforward. Rice is the number one source of arsenic for most Americans, but if you eat lots of chicken, mushrooms, or seafood, your arsenic levels may be even higher. Here are the main exposure pathways for arsenic in rice:

  • Geographic locations and farming practices in that area can affect arsenic levels in rice. For instance, rice from California may have less arsenic than rice from Texas or Louisiana.
  • Rice paddies take up more arsenic than other plants, so the naturally present arsenic will increase in rice in a way that doesn’t happen in other plants.
  • The local water supply may have higher arsenic levels, and if used for irrigation, it will increase arsenic levels in rice. Certain areas, such as Los Angeles, Houston, & Spokane, have higher levels of arsenic in their water.
  • Legacy Pesticide Use: Rice farms that were once used for other crops, such as cotton or tobacco, may already have arsenic contamination in the soil from prior pesticide use.
  • Most rice paddy farms are heavily irrigated, turning them into mud patches that never dry out and, over time, concentrate arsenic.
  • Arsenic-containing drugs: Sometimes arsenic-containing drugs and feed additives are fed to chickens to keep them from getting sick, but this also increases arsenic in their feces. This arsenic-filled chicken poop can be used in composting, which can then enter the general food supply and be taken up by plants or eaten by farm animals.

Rice cooker crock pot free from PFAS "forever chemicals"

Best Rice Cookers

We’ve been researching the safest cookware and small kitchen appliances for years, so we wanted to share with you the safest rice cookers free from PFAS “forever chemical” coatings. Most rice cookers are coated with PFAS “forever chemicals” or different coatings containing nanoparticles. The safest options for rice cookers are stainless steel, cladding materials, or uncoated ceramic, and they can make perfect rice with a fluffy texture. The stainless steel inner rice bowl should be dishwasher-safe, not the entire machine. Not all accessories are approved if they are made of plastic, such as a plastic steamer basket or plastic rice paddle. Most of these machines have a tempered glass lid and a safe heating element, and they can also be set to warm mode to keep warm. Increasing the water ratio in the rice cooker and then tossing the excess water helps reduce arsenic in each bowl of rice.

Interested in other small kitchen appliances and cookware investigations? Here are some additional studies we have done that you may be interested in:

Cookware & Bakeware

Other Kitchen Accessories

Small Kitchen Appliances

Food Packaging

Serving & Plating

Rice in the fields

Mamavation’s Investigation on Rice Tested for Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium, & Mercury

To recap, Mamavation sent 56 rice products to an EPA-certified laboratory to be tested for arsenic, cadmium, mercury & lead. 100% of rice products had detectable amounts of total arsenic.

Mamavation accepted rice donations from women across the United States in the following categories: jasmine rice, basmati rice, sushi rice, long-grain rice, brown rice, rice noodles, forbidden rice, wild rice, and parboiled rice. After receiving the rice, we recorded the information, took pictures, and sent the products to an EPA-certified laboratory for analysis. Rice that was above 0.22 mcg/g (10 mcg of arsenic per 45-gram serving), was sent back for more inorganic arsenic testing. We then estimated inorganic arsenic in other products by using a summary assessment of inorganic arsenic in rice published in 2024. Based on that study, we estimated that inorganic arsenic accounts for 72.7% of the total arsenic found. We included those estimates for all products in the raw data below.

We divided the rice products into 3 categories according to contamination levels. These levels reflect the overall heavy metal contamination in each product but do not align with specific government recommendations.

  • ug/g = 1 ppm = 1000 ppb
  • ug/kg = 1 ppb
  • <MRL means less than “maximum residue limit,” which means it can be found, but it’s so small it can’t be quantified.
  • ND = non-detect

Product Brands We Tested
To help our community make safer choices, Mamavation sent a wide range of popular brown rice to our EPA-certified laboratory for heavy metal testing.

Rice in the fields

Not Our Favorite Rice

All products had detectable arsenic. However, products in this category contained more than 0.15 ug/g of total arsenic. The estimated inorganic arsenic is 72.7% of the total arsenic found. * means the arsenic amount was so high that we sent it back to the lab to test for inorganic arsenic instead of doing an estimation of inorganic arsenic.

Not Our Favorite Basmati Rice

  • Nothing to report in this category. 

Not Our Favorite Brown Rice

  • Nothing to report in this category. 

Not Our Favorite Jasmine Rice

Not Our Favorite Long-Grain Rice

Not Our Favorite Miscellaneous Rice

Not Our Favorite Ramen & Rice Noodles

Not Our Favorite Sushi Rice

  • Nothing to report in this category. 

Jasmine Rice Tested for Arsenic-- Low Arsenic Rice Guide

Better Rice

All products had detectable arsenic. However, products in this category had between 0.1 and 0.14 ug/g of total arsenic. The FDA has an action level of 100 parts per billion (ppb), or 0.1 ug/g, for inorganic arsenic in infant formula. Some products may have lower arsenic levels, but they were not organic, so they were placed in this category. The estimated inorganic arsenic is 72.7% of the total arsenic found, based on a summary assessment.

Better Basmati Rice

Better Brown Rice

Better Jasmine Rice

  • 365 WFM Organic Thai Jasmine White Rice — 0.11 ug/g total arsenic, 0.08 ug/g estimated inorganic arsenic, 0.005 ug/g cadmium, non-detect lead, & non-detect mercury
  • Goya Thai Jasmine Rice Imported by Thailand — 0.11 ug/g total arsenic, 0.08 ug/g estimated inorganic arsenic, 0.005 ug/g cadmium, 0.006 ug/g lead, & non-detect mercury
  • *Great Value Jasmine Rice Thai Hom Mali — 0.084 ug/g total arsenic, 0.061 ug/g estimated inorganic arsenic, 0.007 ug/g cadmium, non-detect lead, & non-detect mercury
  • Thrive Market Organic White Jasmine Rice — 0.135 ug/g total arsenic, 0.098 ug/g estimated inorganic arsenic, 0.006 ug/g cadmium, non-detect lead, & non-detect mercury
  • Trader Joe’s Organic Jasmine Rice from Thailand — 0.106 ug/g total arsenic, 0.077 ug/g estimated inorganic arsenic, 0.004 ug/g cadmium, non-detect lead, & non-detect mercury

Better Long Grain Rice

  • Nothing to report in this category. 

Better Miscellaneous Rice

Better Ramen & Rice Noodles

Better Sushi Rice

  • Nothing to report in this category.  

cooked jasmine rice tested for arsenic

Best Rice

Most products had detectable arsenic. However, products in our “best” category had less than 0.1 ug/g of total arsenic. The FDA has an action level of 100 parts per billion (ppb), or 0.1 ug/g, for inorganic arsenic in infant formula. <MRL means less than “maximum residue limit,” which translates to it can be found, but it’s so small it can’t be quantified. The estimated inorganic arsenic is 72.7% of the total arsenic found.

Best Basmati Rice

  • Azure Market Organic Heirloom Rice Basmati, White: 0.059 ug/g total arsenic, 0.04 ug/g estimated inorganic arsenic,  <MRL cadmium, 0.011 ug/g lead, & non-detect mercury
  • Azure Market Organic Heirloom Rice Basmati, Brown: 0.094 ug/g total arsenic, 0.06 ug/g estimated inorganic arsenic, 0.003 ug/g cadmium, 0.063 ug/g lead, & non-detect mercury
  • Azure Market Organic Brown Basmati Rice Imported: 0.098 ug/g total arsenic, 0.07 ug/g estimated inorganic arsenic, 0.003 ug/g cadmium, 0.061 ug/g lead, & non-detect mercury
  • Azure Market Organic White Basmati Rice Imported: 0.077 ug/g total arsenic, 0.05 ug/g estimated inorganic arsenic, 0.003 ug/g cadmium, 0.03 ug/g lead, & non-detect mercury
  • Lotus Food Heirloom Kalijira Rice Organic White Quick Cook Rice (Now called Baby Basmati): 0.09 ug/g total arsenic, 0.06 ug/g estimated inorganic arsenic, 0.024 ug/g cadmium, <MRL lead, & non-detect mercury. (Use discount code “MAMAVATION” for 10% off your order!) (Or purchase it on Amazon here)
  • Lotus Foods Organic Brown Basmati Rice Regenerative Organic Certified: 0.081 ug/g total arsenic, 0.05 ug/g estimated inorganic arsenic, 0.031 ug/g cadmium, 0.012 ug/g lead, & non-detect mercury (Use discount code “MAMAVATION” for 10% off your purchase!) (Or purchase it on Amazon here)
  • Lotus Foods Organic White Basmati Rice Regenerative Organic Certified: 0.036 ug/g total arsenic, 0.05 ug/g estimated inorganic arsenic, 0.023 ug/g cadmium, 0.008 ug/g lead, & non-detect mercury (Use discount code “MAMAVATION” for 10% off your purchase!)(Or purchase it on Amazon here)
  • Lundberg Family Farms Organic California Brown Gourmet Rice BASMATI: 0.065 ug/g total arsenic, 0.04 ug/g estimated inorganic arsenic, 0.004 ug/g cadmium, <MRL lead, & non-detect mercury
  • Royal Organic Basmati Rice: 0.044 ug/g total arsenic, 0.03 ug/g estimated inorganic arsenic, 0.041 ug/g cadmium, <MRL lead, & non-detect mercury
  • The Fresh Market Organic Basmati Long Grain Rice: 0.052 ug/g total arsenic, 0.03 ug/g estimated inorganic arsenic, 0.04 ug/g cadmium, <MRL lead, & non-detect mercury
  • Trader Joe’s Organic Basmati Rice: 0.058 ug/g total arsenic, 0.04 ug/g estimated inorganic arsenic, 0.03 ug/g cadmium, non-detect lead, & non-detect mercury

Best Brown Rice

  • Azure Market Organic Heirloom Rice Basmati, Brown — 0.094 ug/g total arsenic, 0.068 ug/g estimated inorganic arsenic, 0.003 ug/g cadmium, 0.063 ug/g lead, & non-detect mercury.
  • Azure Market Organic Brown Basmati Rice Imported — 0.098 ug/g total arsenic, 0.071 ug/g estimated inorganic arsenic, 0.003 ug/g cadmium, 0.061 ug/g lead, & non-detect mercury.
  • Koda Farms Organic Biologique Kokuho Rose Medium Grain Brown Rice Riz Complet Au Terrior Heirloom Rice California Grown (BLUE) — 0.078 ug/g total arsenic, 0.057 ug/g estimated inorganic arsenic, 0.003 ug/g cadmium, non-detect lead, & non-detect mercury.
  • Lotus Foods Organic Brown Jasmine Rice  — 0.046 ug/g total arsenic, 0.033 ug/g estimated inorganic arsenic, <MRL cadmium, <MRL lead, & non-detect mercury (Use discount code “MAMAVATION” for 10% off your order!) (Or Purchase on Amazon here.)
  • Lotus Foods Organic Brown Basmati Rice Regenerative Organic Certified: 0.081 ug/g total arsenic, 0.05 ug/g estimated inorganic arsenic, 0.031 ug/g cadmium, 0.012 ug/g lead, & non-detect mercury (Use discount code “MAMAVATION” for 10% off your purchase!) (Or purchase it on Amazon here)
  • Lundberg Family Farms Organic California Brown Gourmet Rice BASMATI— 0.065 ug/g total arsenic, 0.047 ug/g estimated inorganic arsenic, 0.004 ug/g cadmium, <MRL lead, & non-detect mercury.
  • Planet Rice Organic Sprouted Brown Medium Grain Rice— 0.088 ug/g total arsenic, 0.063 ug/g estimated inorganic arsenic, 0.022 ug/g cadmium, non-detect lead, & non-detect mercury.

Best Jasmine Rice

Best Long Grain Rice

Best Miscellaneous Rice

  • Trader Joe’s ORZO Macaroni Product — non-detect total arsenic, <MRL lead, 0.024 ug/g cadmium, & non-detect mercury. (Technically not rice, because it’s made from wheat.)

Best Ramen & Rice Noodles

Best Sushi Rice

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