The U.S. Food and Drug Administration would be required to establish a limit for arsenic levels in rice under a bill introduced in Congress last week.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Connecticut, said inorganic arsenic in rice, cereal and other common products exposes consumers to high levels of the carcinogen and that the federal government should step in.
"We have known about the dangers of arsenic for some time now, and there is no excuse for us not to take action," DeLauro said in a statement.
Urvashi Rangan, chief of food safety and sustainability for Consumer Reports, said the publication's testing showed "concerning levels" of inorganic arsenic in rice products.
FDA testing in previous years found arsenic levels that were "too low to cause immediate or short-term adverse health effects," but the agency said it would continue evaluating their long-term impacts.