Food Research
Rice is a widely consumed staple in Jamaica with plain rice and 'rice and peas' ranking in the top ten most commonly consumed starch-bearing foods in Jamaica. For the last 30 years however, large-scale cultivation of rice has been discontinued and the market is supplied entirely by imports. ICENS has become more and more concerned about the impacts of environmental geochemistry on the foods we consume, and it was natural to look at issues of food safety and security for rice. The fact that this important starch staple is not grown in Jamaica made these twin concepts even more important to the impetus of the research. ICENS determined the elemental content of rice on the Jamaican market to provide data which can be used to determine nutritional intake in terms of essential, beneficial trace elements as well as the risk of exposure to potentially toxic elements.
