New Section 25501.1 Naturally Occurring Concentrations of Listed Chemicals in Unprocessed Foods; Inorganic Arsenic in White and Brown Rice

On August 2, 2018, the Office of Administrative Law approved amendments to Title 27, California Code of Regulations, Article 5. This action adopts new Section 25501.1 to provide guidance for businesses and the public by establishing default natural background levels for inorganic arsenic in white and brown rice.  These default background levels can assist businesses in determining the applicability of the warning requirements of Proposition 65.^[1] 

The concentration levels established in Section 25501.1 take into account the possible contribution of anthropogenic sources in deriving the naturally occurring safe harbor values for the section. The naturally occurring concentrations for of inorganic arsenic in rice are 80 parts per billion (ppb) for white rice and 170 ppb for brown rice.  This regulatory action will become effective on October 1, 2018.

Please direct questions regarding this regulatory action to Monet Vela, at monet.vela@oehha.ca.gov or (916) 323-2517, or Mario Fernandez, at mario.fernandez@oehha.ca.gov or (916) 323-2635.