In what will be of great concern to many parents, scientists who have carried out a survey of arsenic levels in three common brands of rice-based baby foods say they have found that arsenic levels in the foods are too high.
According to the scientists the arsenic levels in the 17 samples tested are high enough to put children eating them at risk of a range of cancers.
The scientists from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, have calculated that a baby eating the food with the highest arsenic content would receive around six times the maximum arsenic dose allowable under regulations governing arsenic in water.
Even though the Food Standards Agency (FSA) say that there is no danger to infants, the scientists are calling for regulations to be updated as current limits on arsenic in food are outdated.
They also say the regulations do not take into account recent research which has linked chronic exposure to the element can contribute to lung and bladder cancer.
The researchers say most rice in UK baby foods comes from Europe but a better source would be low-arsenic regions, such as parts of the Indian subcontinent, California or from Cádiz and Seville in Spain.
The FSA says baby foods, including baby rice, must comply with the same legislation setting out the controls for contaminants as other foods and takes into account the specific needs of infants and young children.
The FSA has apparently conducted a number of surveys of contaminants in baby foods and say research suggests that the low levels of arsenic in weaning products are not a cause for concern.
Professor Andrew Meharg who led the study, says it is only in the last three or four years that it has been widely known that rice is a dominant source of inorganic arsenic to the diet, but it is a carcinogen, and caution must be exercised.