[Fate of Organophosphorus Flame Retardants in Polished Rice during the Cooking Process]

The fate of organophosphorus flame retardants (PFRs) in polished rice during the cooking process was examined. After adding PFRs to polished rice (500 ng/g), the rice was washed with water and cooked in a rice cooker. Among the seven kinds of PFRs, approximately 68-86% of the PFRs residues were removed after washing with water three times. In the first washing with water, approximately 50-70% of the PFRs residues were removed from rice. By the subsequent heating in an electric rice cooker or in a microwave rice cooker, the removal rates of PFRs in the cooked rice were 74-94 and 78-96%, respectively. The removal rates in musenmai (500 ng/g) which need not to wash before cooking were lower than those in the washed rice. In the cooked musenmai, 10-50% of the PFRs residues were removed after heating in the electric rice cooker, and 10-70% were removed in the microwave rice cooker. The washing process is effective to reduce the intake of PFRs from rice.