<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
Thought I would share this correspondence I had with Mr. Wylde of Ener-G
Foods. Hopefully you will be able to tell the difference between my
questions and his response.
From: Sam Wylde III [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Sunday, March 25, 2012 6:05 PM
To: 'Lyke'
Subject: RE: Arsenic Questions, 03/06/12, 03/25/12
Yes you can post it on Celiac Listserv.
Your members may also be interested in:
The United Nations organizations, FAO and WHO are meeting March 28, 2012 to
March 30, 2012 at Masstricht, Netherlands. The meeting title is CCCF6 Codex
Committee on Contaminants in Foods. If you go to the below link, scroll
down to Step 5 you will find their agenda includes, Prepare a draft
Maximizing Levels for Arsenic in Rice. Click on the first green arrow for
English, second arrow for French, third arrow for Spanish.
http://www.codexalimentarius.org/meetings-reports/en/
Sincerely,
Sam Wylde, III.
President
Ener-G Foods, Inc.
Sent: Friday, March 23, 2012 9:27 AM
To: Sam Wylde III
Subject: RE: Arsenic Questions, 03/06/12
Mr. Wylde:
Once again thank you for responding to my questions about arsenic in rice.
I wonder if you would mind if I shared our correspodence with the Celiac
Listserv I belong to. I think it would be helpful to the celiac community.
I have appreciated your time in responding to my questions.
From: Sam Wylde III [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Saturday, March 10, 2012 2:46 PM
To: 'Lyke'
Subject: RE: Arsenic Questions, 03/06/12
Mr. Wylde:
Thank you very much for taking the time to respond to my email.
I am glad to know that you and your suppliers check arsenic levels.
However, since inorganic arsenic is more toxic does the testing by you or
your suppliers just give an overall arsenic level or can it separate the
inorganic and organic arsenic levels?
We have until last week only tested for total arsenic. I have finally
found a laboratory named Eurofin which tests for inorganic arsenic. Their
USA branch has to send the sample to Germany to be tested.
You had indicated it is very difficult. Also do you test all your rice
products or just the ones with rice bran?
The suppliers test rice and rice flour for arsenic. We also test Rice
Bran ourselves. You should be able to get information on arsenic in rice
from The USA Rice Federation, a trade organization.
http://www.usarice.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=675&Item
id=112
It was interesting to read about paddy rice being safer for celiacs in
regards to wheat, rye, or barley contamination but I did not know you could
use the same combine to harvest either rice or wheat or even another grain -
I would think that would cause contamination. Is that something you ask
your suppliers about?
We have, and we use paddy rice and we do periodic gluten testing.
Cross-contamination can occur this way, and you are correct it is not
limited to rice. Most rice is still paddy rice preventing combine use
which makes it safer than other
Have you considered using any of the other gluten free grains i.e.
sorghum, buckwheat, quinoa, etc for your products instead of mostly rice?
We use many other flours besides rice. See our website, www.ener-g.com
to see the ingredients in our products.
I think that would help reduce the arsenic level for celiacs since a big
chunk of our diet is rice based.
Inorganic arsenic in rice depends on where it is grown and what if any
chemicals are used. Levels of arsenic in rice can be lower than other edible
plants, depending on how the other plants are grown. Arsenic is less common
in pesticides/herbicides/fungacides than before, but is still legal.
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Arsenic. Growing food in old
cotton fields may result in inorganic arsenic in such food because of heavy
use of arsenic.
I was finally diagnosed with celiac in 1996 after going from doctor to
doctor for years and started using Ener-G products fairly soon afterwards.
I do appreciate your company providing gluten free products but have learned
it is absolutely necessary for me to question the products I use whether it
is about gluten or something else.
From: Lyke [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2012 2:16 PM
To: Sam Wylde III
Subject: RE: Arsenic Questions, 03/06/12
Mr. Wylde:
Thank you very much for taking the time to respond to my email.
I am glad to know that you and your suppliers check arsenic levels.
However, since inorganic arsenic is more toxic does the testing by you or
your suppliers just give an overall arsenic level or can it separate the
inorganic and organic arsenic levels? You had indicated it is very
difficult. Also do you test all your rice products or just the ones with
rice bran?
It was interesting to read about paddy rice being safer for celiacs in
regards to wheat, rye, or barley contamination but I did not know you could
use the same combine to harvest either rice or wheat or even another grain -
I would think that would cause contamination. Is that something you ask
your suppliers about?
Have you considered using any of the other gluten free grains i.e.
sorghum, buckwheat, quinoa, etc for your products instead of mostly rice? I
think that would help reduce the arsenic level for celiacs since a big chunk
of our diet is rice based.
I was finally diagnosed with celiac in 1996 after going from doctor to
doctor for years and started using Ener-G products fairly soon afterwards.
I do appreciate your company providing gluten free products but have learned
it is absolutely necessary for me to question the products I use whether it
is about gluten or something else.
Thanks again for your time and the information you provided.
*Please provide references to back up claims of a product being GF or not GF*
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