Santo Domingo – The National Institute for the Protection of Consumer Rights (Pro Consumidor) reported that the first laboratory studies carried out by this institution on a dozen brands of rice marketed in the country revealed that none of them tested positive for harmful metals that damage people’s health.

The entity’s executive director, Eddy Alcántara, who spoke at a press conference accompanied by the laboratory’s person in charge, Fidel Del Rosario, said that these studies guarantee that the cereal consumed in the Dominican Republic “does not represent any risk for the health of the consumers.”

The official explained that these laboratory tests were carried out after reports appeared in different media of alleged rice contamination with heavy metals such as cadmium, mercury, copper, arsenic, and lead, “which has been discarded with the results of these studies that we are announcing today.”

“These studies were carried out on several brands of rice, both domestically produced and imported, and it was evidenced that the mentioned harmful metals are absent in this product of great consumption in the Dominican population,” he said.

Alcántara indicated that the rice samples sent to the laboratory were taken randomly from different establishments, such as supermarkets and grocery stores.

“This first study carried out on these brands that are marketed in the country guarantees tranquility and food sovereignty,” Alcántara added.

He said that as a market surveillance authority, after the aforementioned complaint appeared in some media, “we went out to collect the tests to send them to the laboratories, and as you can see, as soon as we had these first results, we were making them known to the population.”

The head of Pro Consumidor said they will continue testing other cereal brands until the total revision of this product, which is currently in the national market, is completed.

He reiterated that if these heavy metals are proven in other rice brands, the responsible party will be sanctioned, and the product will be withdrawn from the market, as established by law 358-05 of consumer protection.

He pointed out that the referred regulation indicates that “the products and services must be supplied or rendered in such a way that, consumed or used in normal or foreseeable conditions, they do not present danger or harmfulness or unforeseen risks for the health and safety of the consumer or user.”

Alcántara assured consumers that the rice marketed in the country is safe for consumption.

Concern

About a month ago, information circulated that an investigation revealed the presence of arsenic and heavy metals in rice from the Dominican Republic, the United States.

Lizaira Bello, a professor, and researcher in the Basic and Environmental Sciences Area of the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC), pointed out in mid-2023 that the concentration of heavy metals in agricultural soils in a rice-growing area of the Duarte province exceeds the maximum permitted values, which indicates evidence of possible contamination of these soils.

Published Date: April 28, 2024