Rice-Based Drinks (Arsenic)

Rice milk used as a dairy alternative.

52Moderate burden · out of 100

Cleaner swapOat, soy or pea-protein milk

How this score is built

100Start
72.4Chemical hazard 6 × 4.6−27.6
62.2Everyday exposure 3 × 3.4−10.2
52Persistence 4 × 2.6−10.4, then rounded to 52
ModerateThe band52 sits in 40–59.

What each input rests on

The three ratings behind the score, and the studies each rests on
Input	Rating	Evidence
Chemical hazard	6/10	EFSA's contaminants panel found chronic dietary inorganic arsenic linked to cancers of the skin, bladder and lung, treated it as a genotoxic carcinogen, and judged that adult exposure margins (2 to 0.4 for average consumers) raise a health concern. Update of the risk assessment of inorganic arsenic in food · EFSA J 2024 DOI 10.2903/j.efsa.2024.8488 · PMID 38239496 · Abstract · read 2026-10-09
Everyday exposure	3/10	All 19 supermarket rice milks tested would fail the EU 10 µg/L drinking-water limit for arsenic, at up to 3 times that level; 80% of the 15 speciated samples had inorganic arsenic above 10 µg/L. Inorganic arsenic levels in rice milk exceed EU and US drinking water standards · J Environ Monit 2008 DOI 10.1039/b800981c · PMID 18385862 · Abstract · read 2026-10-09
Persistence	4/10	unsourced input

Ratings are editorial. A study listed here supports the rating; it did not compute it. How the index is built

What this means for you

The chemical-hazard rating is what drives the score down. Rice concentrates inorganic arsenic from soil and water. UK and other agencies advise that young children in particular should not rely on rice drinks; other plant milks avoid the issue.

Evidence strength: strong

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Lower-exposure choices

Cruciferous VegetablesMinimal · Food

Filtered Black CoffeeMinimal · Food

Small Oily Fish (Sardines)Low · Food

Organic StrawberriesLow · Food

All 50 food entries, highest burden first →