The Short Answer
Yes, rice cakes contain alarming levels of inorganic arsenic. In fact, because of how they are processed, rice cakes often test higher for heavy metals than a standard bowl of cooked rice.
While the FDA has set a safety limit of 100 parts per billion (ppb) for infant rice cereal, there are no federal heavy metal limits for the rice cakes sold to older children and adults. Recent testing in May 2025 found that 100% of rice products tested contained arsenic, with a staggering 25% exceeding that 100 ppb safety threshold. For this reason, rice cakes are a caution for adults and an avoid for young children.
Why This Matters
Rice absorbs arsenic from soil and water ten times more efficiently than other grains. Because it is grown in flooded paddies, the plant's roots easily take up heavy metals that are naturally present in the earth or left over from historical agricultural practices. When you eat rice, you eat what was in the water.
Rice cakes uniquely concentrate these heavy metals. When you cook regular rice at home, you can boil it in excess water and drain it—a process that washes away up to 70% of the arsenic. Rice cakes don't go through this draining process, locking the heavy metals right into the puffed disc. If you're wondering Are Rice Cakes Healthy, this unchecked concentration of toxins is a major reason why they aren't the innocent diet food we once thought.
Children are exceptionally vulnerable to heavy metal toxicity. Inorganic arsenic is a known carcinogen linked to IQ loss and developmental harm in early childhood. Health agencies in countries like Sweden have explicitly advised parents that children under six should not eat rice cakes at all.
What's Actually In Rice Cakes
While the ingredient list on the back of a rice cake package looks perfectly clean, the agricultural reality tells a different story.
- Brown Rice — Often touted as the healthier base ingredient, brown rice actually contains up to 80% more arsenic than white rice. Arsenic concentrates in the outer bran layer, which is removed to make white rice.
- Inorganic Arsenic — A highly toxic heavy metal and known carcinogen. A benchmark Swedish study found rice cakes contained an average of 152 ppb of inorganic arsenic, dwarfing the levels found in raw or cooked white rice.
- Cadmium and Lead — The 2025 Healthy Babies Bright Futures (HBBF) study found elevated levels of cadmium in nearly all rice samples, alongside concerning spikes of lead in certain seasoned varieties.
- Sea Salt — Added for flavor, but relatively harmless compared to the agricultural contaminants.
What to Look For
Green Flags:
- White rice base — White rice consistently tests lower for heavy metals than brown rice because the arsenic-rich bran has been milled away.
- California or imported sourcing — Rice grown in California, India (Basmati), and Thailand (Jasmine) generally contains significantly lower arsenic levels than rice grown in the South-Central United States.
- Alternative grains — Puffed cakes made from corn, buckwheat, or quinoa contain an average of 69% less heavy metal contamination than rice products.
Red Flags:
- Brown rice base — The healthiest-sounding option is actually the most contaminated. The bran acts like a sponge for heavy metals.
- "Organic" labels as a safety shield — Organic farming doesn't protect against arsenic. Arsenic is a naturally occurring element in the soil and water, meaning organic rice cakes test just as high for heavy metals as conventional ones.
- Feeding them to toddlers — Because of their small body weight, a single rice cake can easily put a toddler over their safe daily limit for heavy metal exposure.
The Best Options
If you still want the crunch of a rice cake, you have to be highly selective about the brand and the type of rice used. For a deeper dive into the cleanest options on the market, check out our guide on Healthiest Rice Cakes.
| Brand | Product | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lundberg | Organic Thin Stackers (White Rice) | ✅ | California-grown white rice limits the heavy metal exposure. |
| Suzie's | Corn, Quinoa & Sesame Cakes | ✅ | Swapping rice for alternative grains drastically drops the arsenic risk. |
| Quaker | Lightly Salted Rice Cakes | 🚫 | Made with whole grain brown rice, maximizing the heavy metal load. |
The Bottom Line
1. Ditch the brown rice cakes. White rice cakes are ironically the much safer choice when it comes to avoiding heavy metals.
2. Swap to alternative grains. If you love the format but hate the risk, look for puffed corn, quinoa, or buckwheat cakes instead.
3. Keep them away from kids. Children under six should avoid rice cakes entirely due to the concentrated heavy metal risks and their low body weight.
FAQ
Does organic rice have less arsenic?
No, organic rice is not safer from arsenic. Arsenic is naturally present in the earth's crust and water supply. While organic farming successfully avoids synthetic pesticides, it cannot prevent the rice plant from absorbing the heavy metals that naturally exist in flooded paddies.
Does washing rice remove the arsenic?
Yes, but you can't wash a pre-made rice cake. When cooking raw rice at home, boiling it in a 6-to-1 water ratio and draining the excess liquid can remove 50-70% of the inorganic arsenic. Rice cakes are puffed whole without this step, locking all the heavy metals inside.
Are rice cakes healthier than potato chips?
It entirely depends on what you are trying to avoid. Rice cakes are lower in calories and free from the inflammatory vegetable oils found in most conventional chips (see Are Veggie Chips Healthy and Chips No Seed Oils). However, they carry a much higher heavy metal burden. If you want a clean, crunchy snack, air-popped popcorn is a safer whole-grain bet. Check out Is Popcorn Healthy and Is Popcorn Healthier Than Chips for cleaner alternatives.