New arsenic compounds: Risk or opportunity for rice cultivation?

University of Bayreuth researchers, together with scientists from Italy and China, have for the first time systematically investigated under which conditions, and to what extent, sulphur-containing arsenic compounds are formed in rice-growing soils. To date, these thioarsenates have not been taken into account in assessments of the health effects of rice consumption. In the journal "Nature Geoscience" the The team, headed by the Bayreuth environmental geochemist Prof. Dr. Britta Planer-Friedrich, presents the results and identifies the urgent need for research with a view to protecting consumers from health risks.