This study aimed to determine the percentage of reduction of lead and cadmium by chelating agents (potassium tartrate and potassium citrate) in the steps of soaking, cooking, and simultaneous soaking and cooking in some varieties of rice for the first time. Each chemical experiment was performed in ten replications. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (Agilent-7700X ICP-MS) was used to assess the complete Cd and Pb content in rice samples acid-digested (500 mg dry-sample, 9 ml HNO3: 3 ml HCl). The cooking-only treatment was more successful in terms of lead reduction than the soaking-only treatment in chelating agent-containing solutions (either potassium tartrate or potassium citrate), though it had the same effect on cadmium reduction. Simultaneous soaking and cooking in chelating agents such as potassium tartrate and potassium citrate significantly reduced lead (reduction rate compared to control 99.43% with potassium tartrate and 98.96% with potassium citrate) and cadmium (reduction rate compared to control 95.13% with potassium tartrate and 92.77% with potassium citrate). Potassium tartrate outperforms potassium citrate in terms of lead reduction, but potassium tartrate is equivalent to potassium citrate in terms of cadmium reduction. Up to 200 ppm applicable chelating agents, sensory analysis showed no statistically significant difference between the treatments. In general, rice cookers are advised to use levels up to 200 ppm of citrate or potassium tartrate in combination in the 3-hr rinsing period and then in the 15-min cooking period to reduce the percentage of dangerous heavy metals, especially lead 99%-99.4% and cadmium 92.8%-95.1%.
Keywords: 15‐min boiling step; 3‐hr soaking step; Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry; heavy metal removal; sensory evaluation; sequestering agents.
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