The Reducing food-based Inorganic Compounds Exposure (RICE) Act introduced to Congress this week by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) asks the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to set a maximum level of inorganic arsenic in rice and foods that contain rice.

DeLauro has presented the bill in part because, according to the World Trade Organization, “inorganic arsenic is a known carcinogen, and long-term oral exposure to high levels of inorganic arsenic is associated with developmental defects, cardiovascular disease, neurotoxicity, and diabetes, according to the World Health Organization,” The bill also asks the FDA to take into account how any established limits might affect children’s health and brain development in comparison to that of adults.

Arsenic is currently limited in bottled water and apple juice at 10 parts per billion for both--limits established by the FDA. There are no government regulated or recommended limits of arsenic in food though. DeLauro says, “We have known about the dangers of arsenic for some time now, and there is no excuse for us not to take action.”