Don’t buy any brand of Uncle Ben’s Rice for the time being because the Food and Drug Administration, FDA, has issued an urgent recall of Uncle Ben’s Infused Rice products. According to the recall notice,  FDA’s Coordinated Outbreak Response and Evaluation Network (CORE) was notified of a cluster of illnesses at three public schools in Katy, Texas.

It reported incidences of burning, itching rashes, headaches and nausea for 30 to 90 minutes, among those who consumed the product. The FDA also reports on several other outbreaks of strange symptoms among children who ate the rice. The recall is  the latest in a steady stream of bad news about rice, most of which is grown in Asian countries that lack any real regulation of industrial pollution affecting agricultural regions where rice is grown. In November, 2012, arsenic, a heavy metal linked to many types of cancer was reportedly found in rice imported from Asia.