Lead found in rice bag labels

MANILA, Philippines - The environment watchdog EcoWaste Coalition has detected lead in the labels of rice bags being sold in Metro Manila.

Through a portable X-Ray Fluorescence analyzer, the group found lead in the range of 124 parts per million to 2,605 ppm in 59 of the 125 samples, exceeding the US limit of 90 ppm for lead in paint and surface coatings.

The other 66 rice bags had low or non-detectable levels of lead, indicating that rice sacks can be designed and labeled without using leaded dyes, inks or paints.

The group bought 125 empty rice sacks from various rice dealers in 10 cities last month.

It alerted Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala and Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) Director Kenneth Hartigan-Go about its findings.

The sacks used as primary packaging for rice, the nation’ s staple food, should be totally safe from lead, a toxic chemical, it said.

In a letter to both the  Department of Agriculture and the FDA, Aileen Lucero, acting national coordinator of  EcoWaste Coalition, noted that lead was detected not only in the outer portions but also the inner sections of the sacks.

“We also detected traces of arsenic, chromium and mercury in sacks that tested positive for lead,” Lucero said.

 â€œOur study is limited to determining the presence of lead in rice sacks, and excludes any analysis of lead in rice grains. As such, our study does not establish any association between the leaded sacks and the grains contained in those sacks,” she said.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry said  lead exposure affects  the cardiovascular, developmental, gastrointestinal, hematological, musculoskeletal, neurological, ocular, renal and reproductive systems of the body.