LAUSR

Abstract Rice is a significant source of arsenic (As) and high consumption is noted for the Brazilian population. Inorganic-As (i-As) accumulation in rice strongly depends on geochemical soil characteristics. These characteristics may be completely different from site to site and it is expected that rice grains grown in different cities would present significant differences concerning total As (t-As) and i-As. In this context, an exploratory study concerning t-As and As species was performed on two Brazilian rice varieties (Puita and IRGA 424) collected from producers in eight cities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. All samples presented i-As lower than the maximum permissible limit (350 ng g−1) recommended by the FAO/Codex guidelines. Puita from the city of Arroio Grande presented t-As 2-fold higher than grains grown in Itaqui, 2.6-fold higher than grains from Pelotas, and 1.6-fold lower than grains from Santa Vitoria do Palmar. Santa Vitoria do Palmar grains presented the highest t-As content (318 ± 11 ng g-1). Rice grains from four different producers cultivated in the city of Pelotas presented significant variations. Therefore, an extensive rice-traceability is required to improve As mitigation and risk assessment in rice grains.