Arsenic in our food supply? This week on What Doesn’t Kill You, Katy Keiffer checks in Dr. Urvashi Rangan regarding the prevalence of arsenic in food products like rice, apple juice, and poultry. Urvashi Rangan, Ph.D. leads and directs the Consumer Safety and Sustainability Group for Consumer Reports. She is responsible for managing risk analysis, policy assessments, label evaluations and consumer advice for tests, reports, and related advocacy work. Urvashi joined Consumers Union in 1999 and developed the ratings system, database, and Web site, Eco-labels.org for evaluating environmental and food labels. Dr. Rangan serves as a primary, national spokesperson for Consumer Reports in the areas of sustainable production/consumption practices, food safety, and product safety issues related to chemical and contaminant hazards. How are aresenicals introduced into the food supply? Find out ways to avoid arsenic by filtering drinking water, and selectively sourcing apple juice. Are cancer rates at all related to rice consumption due to arsenic levels? Find out all of this and more on this week’s episode of What Doesn’t Kill You! Thanks to our sponsor, Cain Vineyard & Winery. Thanks to Dead Stars for today’s music.

“Rice likes to take up arsenic in general because it is grown in anaerobic conditions.” [4:45]

“We should all be really concerned about our exposure to heavy metals over time.” [10:40]

— Dr. Urvashi Rangan on What Doesn’t Kill You