According to a Feb. 2009 study by the UK government, organic arsenic levels in rice milk make it unsafe to be used as a milk substitute for children. Lovely.
My son is allergic to cow's milk, there is controversy about soy (personally, I'm more concerned with the processing than the estrogens) and goat milk tastes, well, goat-y. After reading a ga-zillion labels, I decided that rice milk was a safe alternative. I had been giving my 2 year old rice milk for a year when the UK government issues an alarming study that arsenic levels in rice milk make it unsafe for young children to use as a milk replacement. The concern is that children would ingest a potentially carcinogenic level of arsenic.
The FSA (Food Standard Agency) wrote: 'As a precaution, toddlers and young children between one and 4.5 years old should not have rice drinks as a replacement for cows' milk, breast milk, or infant."
Original report:
www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/fsis0209arsenicinrice.pdf
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What is the conclusion!?
ReplyDeleteThe conclusion is that children under 4.5 years should not use rice milk regularly. I don't want to paraphrase too much so I've cut/pasted the Conclusion from the report below:
ReplyDeleteConclusion
Daily consumption of rice drinks in quantities similar to the average consumption of cows’
milk (one glass, approximately 200 millilitres by adults or half a pint, approximately 280
millilitres by a toddler/young child) would lead to an additional daily dietary exposure to
inorganic arsenic. This increase is minor for adults and young persons and they do not
need to change their diet. This increase in the intake of inorganic arsenic could be up to
four fold for toddlers and young children (ages 1- 4.5 years) if rice drinks are consumed
instead of breast milk, infant formula or cows’ milk. Therefore the Agency advises against
the substitution of breast milk, infant formula or cows’ milk by rice drinks for toddlers and
young children. All other consumers do not need to change their diet. Parents of toddlers
and young children who are currently consuming rice drinks because they are allergic to or
intolerant of cows’ milk are advised to consult their health professional or dietician about
suitable alternatives to cows’ milk.