Tokyo Food Safety Information Center » Tokyo Metropolitan Government food safety FAQ » I hear that hijiki (a kind of edible seaweed) contains arsenic. Is it safe to eat it?

I hear that hijiki (a kind of edible seaweed) contains arsenic. Is it safe to eat it?

I hear that hijiki (a kind of edible seaweed) contains arsenic. Is it safe to eat it?

  • Hijiki reportedly contains a large amount of inorganic arsenic, but due to the typically low amounts of usual dietary intake, the announces that the health risk will never increase if well-balanced diets are kept in mind or unless an extremely large amount of hijiki is ingested.
  • No report on arsenic poisoning due to consumption of hijiki has been made to date.
  • On the other hand, it was reported that arsenic at a high concentration was detected from a so-called health food, which was produced from hijiki concentrate.


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(Extracted from website of Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare updated on July 30, 2004)

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