Even the rice might be unsafe

In the past few years, China’s seen food scares over everything from melamine in baby milk to soy sauce made from human hair. Now it seems even the rice is toxic.

Rice, the staple of every Chinese meal, is coming under scrutiny in new reports suggesting that as much as 10 percent of China’s rice may be contaminated with heavy metals including toxic cadmium. The China Economic Weekly magazine reported this week that 12 million tons of rice and grain may be affected, due to high concentrations of metals and other toxins in the soil from years of industrial pollution. No word thus far on how the government might manage this potential health crisis, and Chinese — two-thirds of whom eat rice every day — aren't likely to switch staple foods soon.