UK Food Standards Agency is advising people not to eat a type of seaweed called hijiki because of the high levels of arsenic that it contains
Japanese specialist warns, "The pregnant woman and the baby should avoid taking because it contains an inorganic arsenic of the carcinogen" of the seaweeds.
British Food Standard Agency (FSA) announced the recommendation with "Consumerses had to choose other marine algaes without eating Hijiki" on July 28.
It is because it turned out that a lot of inorganic arsenic with a high carcinogenesis risk were included by the investigation.
FSA introduces an international opinion with "It is necessary to suppress the consumers at a low level as long as an inorganic arsenic was able to be taken" in the recommendation . FSA called for the consumers to avoid the intake of the Hijiki.
The Japanese Government is describing such movement, "The dietary intakes during a day of the Hijiki a Japanese are about 0.9 grams . The dietary intake is not exceeded on the week of provisional of the inorganic arsenic that World Health Organization (WHO) provided if the person doesn't continuously take 4.7 grams or more every day when based on the person of 50kg in weight".
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced the opinion "The risk doesn't rise if the consumers noted that a well-balanced meal was taken".
The opinion is correspondence opposite to the recommendation of Britain.
Is the Hijiki really safe?
A well-informed specialist about the arsine poisoning, assistant professor Hiroshi Yamauchi in the St. Marianna University School of Medicine preventive medicine room point out, "The Hijiki is a special food that contains a lot of inorganic arsenics(5). Attention is necessary for how to eat".
A lot of inorganic arsenics(5) are contained in the well water and thermal water besides the Hijiki.
In India and Bangladesh that are using the well water as daily life water, 47 million people suffer from arseniasis. It is assumed that the poisoned patient reaches 50 million people in the entire world.
Moreover, WHO also puts an inorganic arsenic in question as a carcinogen. It is an international task how to decrease the intake of an inorganic arsenic.
Assistant professor Yamauchi points out that the recommendation of this Britain is a part of this tendency.
"In the background that Britain called for the intake discontinuance of the Hijiki, it originates the fact that it is understood that an inorganic arsenic causes the lung cancer and the skin carcinoma. It is a worldwide tendency as a severe arsenic standard with tap water is set to decrease the dietary intake and the intake route of the arsenic. The idea that there is no necessity for purposely taking food where the carcinogen is included is in the basis of Europe and America. "
Then, is "Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake of the arsenic by WHO" that the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare assumes to be grounds of safety an untrustworthy internationally standard?
Assistant professor Yamauchi shows the opinion "It is necessary to evaluate the dietary intake by the finding of the latest arsine poisoning study" while describing, "This standard was provisionally set in 1988. The case that in 50 million arseniasis patients, there were patients who suffered from the arsine poisoning below the standard of WHO is reported".
The Hijiki with abundant dietary fibre and indispensable minerals is seaweeds that take root deeply in eating habits of Japan. How should be going to eat the consumers therefore in the future?
Assistant professor Yamauchi is proposing "About once a week".
Time necessary to reduce the inorganic arsenic taken into the inside of the body by half is about 28 hours.
It accumulates in the body, and it is likely to develop arsenic poisoning if it keeps taking it voluminously every day.
When the metabolism of the arsenic and the finding concerning the excretion are based, assistant professor Yamauchi says, "The figure about once a week can be calculated".
However, assistant professor Yamauchi warns, "The pregnant woman and the baby should not eat".
He speaks, "There is a possibility of giving the trouble to embryo's encephalon center because an inorganic arsenic passes the placenta. Because the correspondence power to the toxicity is weak, the baby of three years or less should also still avoid the Hijiki".
JCPRESS published details of this news in the issue on the Japan consumer newspaper September 15.