Dhaka, Sept. 23 -- Rice arrives on the Bangladeshi table almost by default -- steaming, familiar and consumed in quantities few other foods can match. But as concerns grow over excessive heavy metals and pesticide residues in vegetables and fruit, a new study has offered a mixed picture of the safety of the country's staple grain.

Levels of the harmful heavy metals lead and cadmium in market rice remained below international limits. Yet 19 of 104 samples, or 18 percent, contained inorganic arsenic above the maximum level set by the Codex Alimentarius.

The study was conducted recently at the Rice Analytical Laboratory (RAL) under the Crop Quality and Nutrition Division of the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI).

Researchers collec...