Rice Intake Among Infants and Toddlers from the Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study 2016

BACKGROUND: The Food and Drug Administration's Closer to Zero Action Plan aims to reduce toxic element exposure from foods infants and toddlers eat. Rice has been identified as a source of inorganic arsenic in the diets of infants and toddlers. OBJECTIVE: Evaluate consumption of rice and rice-containing foods from the Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS) 2016. DESIGN: FITS was a national cross-sectional survey conducted in 2016. Dietary intakes were collected by trained nutritionists using multiple-pass 24-hour recalls by telephone with parents and caregivers of infants and toddlers. PARTICIPANTS: Participants from FITS 2016 (n = 2635) are from a national sample weighted to be representative of US infants and toddlers 0-24 months of age. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Rice grain consumption among infants and toddlers and distribution of rice grain consumed was determined using 1-day intakes. Per capita mean grams rice/day from infant cereal was determined for infants aged 0-12 months. STATISTICAL ANALYSES: Sources of rice were identified from 24-hour dietary recalls. A percentage of rice grain was assigned to each food source, and descriptive statistics were used to estimate intakes and distributions. RESULTS: Percentage consuming rice or rice-containing foods was highest for infants aged 6-11.9 months (58.2%), including snacks (32.1%), infant cereal (27.9%), baby food purees (11.1%), and cooked rice (7.7%). Among infants 6-11.9 months of age who consumed rice, mean intake of rice from all sources was 11.9 ± 0.8 g/d (mean ± standard error [SE]), and although most frequently reported, snacks provided the least quantity of rice (2.0 ± 0.2 g/d). For infants 0-11.9 months of age, mean per capita rice intake from infant cereal was 3.3 ± g/day. CONCLUSIONS: Older infants consume rice from a variety of foods. Rice-containing snacks contribute minimal quantities of rice to the daily diet. To reduce exposure to inorganic arsenic, infants should be offered a variety of grains as part of a well-balanced diet.