Methylmercury varies more than one order of magnitude in commercial European rice.

Rice is known to accumulate methylmercury (MeHg) in the rice grains. MeHg as a neurotoxin impacts on the human central nervous systems and especially on the developing brain. In this exploratory study, 87 commercial rice products sold in Europe, including nine baby-rice products, were analyzed for total Hg and MeHg content. MeHg concentration in all rice products investigated range from 0.11 to 6.45μgkg(-1) with an average value of 1.91±1.07μgkg(-1) and baby-rice is not significantly different from other rice products. Total Hg ranges from 0.53 to 11.1μgkg(-1) with an average of 3.04±2.07μgkg(-1). MeHg concentrations in all rice products studied in this work would not exceed the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI). 30% of all commercial market rice products exceeded 10% of the PTWI calculated for toddlers or 13% of products for adults with rice based diet.