Arsenic is on my mind.

Late one evening just recently, I read a study where the authors used Indian black rice and Italian white rice to make a lager style beer (1). All good, right? After all we know that rice is a key ingredient in many commercial beers.

Then the researchers dropped a bombshell. I am still not certain why they dropped this bombshell. Perhaps to make a social statement? They could have simply concluded their research with a favorable recommendation for using black rice as a raw material for making beer.

The bombshell – rice is notorious for its ability to uptake arsenic from the soil. The Indian Rice gave beer with 15 ppm arsenic. The Italian rice gave beer with 28 ppm arsenic.

This revelation led me to another academic paper (2) that studied 19 different beers from around the globe. The average arsenic level in this sampling of beers was 11 ppm. It turns out that barley also can uptake arsenic from the soil. Italian ales and lagers made with rice and/or barley had about 15 ppm arsenic (not so good!). German Hefe Weizens had 2-6 ppm arsenic (excellent!). Irish Stout had 2.7 ppm arsenic (again, excellent!). Japanese lager had 10 ppm arsenic (in line with the average). Scottish strong lager had 20 ppm arsenic (not good!).

Before you reach for your next beer, stop and consider where it is from. Where was the barley grown? If the beer is made with rice, where is the rice from? Hint – a lot of barley in the USA comes from Idaho and Colorado, both of which have areas with higher arsenic levels. Thankfully, American rice is low in arsenic. Without naming specific beers, I think we all know what beers are brewed in Colorado. I would really like to see some analytical data for these commercial beers to satisfy myself that they have low arsenic. But I doubt I will see this data. Funny thing about toxins in food and drink. The data is often carefully managed so as to avoid public outcry.

One on-line study (3) I found claimed that certain soils in the grain growing region of northern Alberta have high arsenic levels. I have not been able to find Saskatchewan geochemistry soil data. I would like to, as we do have a malting plant in Biggar, SK.

And, now for the kicker. Glyphosate type agrochemicals have varying levels of arsenic (4), ranging from 2 to 31 ppm as cited in a 2015 study. A 2014 study by the same lead author went so far as to name some agrochemical names: Propanil, MCPA, Mancozeb, Chlorpyrifos, Carbofuran, Diazinon, Profenofos, Carbosulfan, Pretilachlor + Pyribenzoxim (5). How a glyphosate product works is, it disrupts a key metabolic pathway responsible for amino acid synthesis. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins needed for plant structural growth. Weeds are plants, ergo a farm operator applying glyphosate type products at the appropriate time can inhibit weed growth (6). Moreover, glyphosate type products readily chelate (bind) with soil elements such as arsenic and remain in the soil. A growing plant such as rice or barley will then uptake the chelated arsenic molecules (7). I think we all know the name of one glyphosate type product that is common to North American agriculture. Hello RoundUp! To be fair, I have not seen a chemical analysis of RoundUp and so cannot say whether it has high or low arsenic content.  A reasonable question to ask, however, is “What is the average barley grower putting on his fields?”. If this talk of arsenic in agrochemical doesn’t make you stand up and cheer for organic farming, nothing will.

As for me and my long-term health, I am going to stick to German Hefe Weizens and Irish Stouts when I next stop at the SLGA Liquor store in Assiniboia, SK.

Here is the big question and one that I am sure will not be welcome in beer brewing circles: does anyone out there have arsenic geochemical soil data for Saskatchewan?  

If you do, please share it.

Here is another big unwelcome question: does anyone have chemical composition analytical data on malt barley from Canada Malting in Calgary or from Prairie Malt in Biggar, SK. ?

If you do, please share it.

This entire accidental late-night discovery of this sensitive subject has really got me thinking. We have seen how Monsanto has quietly slipped away and merged with Bayer. Lawsuits in the billions of dollars have dogged (and continue to dog) both Monsanto and the now merged Monsanto/Bayer entity. Courts of law have decided that glyphosate chemicals are bad.

I am not trying to hurt beer brewers or malting companies. But arsenic and other heavy metals are cumulative in the human system. If you are a beer drinker, as I am- in a big way, don’t you owe it to yourself and to your family to figure out what (if any) heavy metals such as arsenic are in the beer you drink? If a brewer is using a certain type of malt that may have above-average arsenic levels, does that brewer not have a moral obligation to explore other malt brands from different geographic areas that might have lower heavy metal assays? Do malting companies not have a moral obligation to source barley from farm operators using safer farming practices?

I will leave it at that for now. I think I have stirred up more than enough controversy.

• Kamaljit, M, et al (2020) Indian Black Rice: A Brewing Raw Material with Novel Functionality. J. Inst. Brewing, (126), p 35-45.  
• Donadini, G., Spalla, S., and Beone, G. M. (2008) Arsenic, cadmium and lead in beers from the Italian market. J. Inst. Brew. (114), 283–88.
• Dudas, MJ (1987) Accumulation of Native Arsenic In Acid Sulphate Soils in Alberta. Can. J. Soil Sci. 67:317-331.
• Jayasumana et al (2015) Phosphate fertilizer is a main source of arsenic in areas affected with chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology in Sri Lanka. Springer Plus. 4:90, pp: 2-8.
• Jayasumana et al (2014) Glyphosate, Hard Water and Nephrotoxic Metals: Are They the Culprits Behind the Epidemic of Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Etiology in Sri Lanka? Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health (11), pp:2125-2147.
• Malik, J.; Barry, G.; Kishore, G. (1989) The herbicide glyphosate. BioFactors. (2), pp:17–25.
• Caetano, M. et al (2012) Understanding the inactivation process of organophosphorus herbicides: A dft study of glyphosate metallic complexes with Zn2+,Ca2+, Mg2+, Cu2+, Co3+, Fe3+, Cr3+, and Al3+. Int. J. Quantum. Chem. (112), pp:2752–2762.