Agri Dept to monitor rice from China for traces of cadmium

The Department of Agriculture (DA) will be monitoring Chinese rice imports after it was reported that China's food and drug agency found excessive levels of cadmium in 44.44 percent of rice products from Guangzhou City, a department official said Monday. According to National Rice Program Coordinator Dante Delima, rice entering the Philippines from China will be screened at the Customs level for cadmium content. According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) of the U.S. Department of Health, cadmium is a carcinogen which can cause lung damage and fragile bones. "Breathing high levels of cadmium can severely damage the lungs. Eating food or drinking water with very high levels severely irritates the stomach, leading to vomiting and diarrhea. Long-term exposure to lower levels of cadmium in air, food, or water leads to a buildup of cadmium in the kidneys and possible kidney disease," it said. Delima said the excessive cadmium content may have come from the farm inputs used in Southern China. Delima also pointed out that the department can only screen rice that goes through the proper channels. "This is why we would not patronize smuggled rice. This is also a reason why we have to be self-sufficient in rice," he said. The Philippines will import 25,000 metric tons (MT) of rice from China as part of the minimum access volume (MAV) of 163,000 MT it is required by the World Trade Organization to import this year. — BM, GMA News