In most cases, choosing the organic versions of the foods you purchase is a great way to lower your exposure to a variety of harmful chemicals, pesticides, antibiotics, and in some cases, steroids and growth hormones.

Unfortunately, a recently published study has proven that this doesn’t always hold true. The study detected high levels of arsenic in a number of organic food products, including energy shots, cereal bars and, most alarmingly, arsenic in organic baby food. It’s currently believed that consuming arsenic can increase your risk of cancer.

In particular, the study found that organic brown rice syrup, commonly used in organic foods as a replacement for high fructose corn syrup, was to blame.

The most tainted products examined in the study were found to have arsenic concentrations in excess of 12 times the safe drinking water limit as defined by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Inorganic Vs. Organic Arsenic

Arsenic comes in two varieties: inorganic and organic. These classifications don’t refer to pesticide use, but rather the chemical makeup of the compound itself. Most of the arsenic detected in organic foods was inorganic, the more dangerous of the two. The EPA states that frequent exposure to inorganic arsenic could lead to a number of serious health conditions, ranging from cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes to skin, lung and bladder cancer.

Currently, U.S. laws do not regulate the amount of arsenic that’s allowable in food products. The regulations that pertain to drinking water arsenic levels don’t translate well to food, since it’s likely that you’ll consume more water by volume than any particular food type. However, researchers are especially worried about the arsenic levels detected in infant formula, since babies are more susceptible to toxins due to their minimal size and weight.

Breaking Down the Study

The study was conducted by Brian Jackson and other researchers at Hanover, New Hampshire’s Dartmouth College. The research team analyzed the arsenic levels in 3 energy shots, 29 cereal bars and 17 baby formulas, all of which were purchased in New Hampshire.

Two of the 17 baby formulas that were evaluated contained more organic brown rice syrup than any other ingredient, and the researchers found that these same products had 20 to 30 times more arsenic than the other baby formulas they tested.

The arsenic levels of the cereal bars also appeared to depend on whether the products contained organic rice products, including rice flakes, rice grain, rice flour and, of course, brown rice syrup. While the cereal bars produced without rice had relatively safe levels of arsenic at 8 to 27 parts per billion, the rice-containing cereal bars were much more dangerous at 23 to 128 ppb.

The arsenic levels of the energy shots, all of which included organic brown rice syrup, ranged from 84 to 171 ppb. Although this might sound alarming, it’s relatively insignificant given that you’d need to consume four energy shots to equal the arsenic content found in one liter of water that meets the EPA arsenic limit.

Protecting Infants from Arsenic

Christopher States, a University of Louisville toxicologist, agrees that individuals should be most concerned with levels of arsenic found in baby formula. According to States, the arsenic concentrations detected in the study assumed that the formula would be mixed with arsenic-free water. Since a good portion of drinking water contains at least some arsenic, the effective arsenic levels in baby formula made with organic brown rice syrup may be even higher than those found in the study.

What makes this even more alarming is the fact that babies may only consume one type of food (in this case, arsenic-containing formula) for an extended period of their early development. This would cause arsenic to accumulate more rapidly and in higher concentrations than in adults who not only weigh more, but obviously consume a wider variety of foods.

At the same time, Jackson said that adults probably shouldn’t be overly concerned about occasionally eating foods that may contain arsenic. If the EPA ever does decide to regulate arsenic levels in food intended for adults, the upper limit may be as high as 200 ppb. Of course, even adults should be conscious of their arsenic consumption, and attempt to keep it to a minimum whenever possible.

Arsenic in Organic Foods: The Bottom Line

Organic foods made with rice products, especially organic brown rice syrup, have been found to contain relatively high levels of arsenic. Although adults shouldn’t experience any significant health effects from eating the occasional energy shot or cereal bar containing arsenic, researchers also found high levels of arsenic in organic, brown rice syrup-based infant formulas. Consuming formula with a high concentration of arsenic may be detrimental to a baby’s development, and could lead to serious health concerns later in life.

The full text of the study can be found in Environmental Health Perspectives.