Arsenic in Asian grown rice? Diacetyl in popcorn?

No wonder there's that delicious ...afterglow... after eating:

LONDON, Aug. 30 Scientists say millions of people in developing countries are being poisoned by arsenic in drinking water.

Peter Ravenscroft of Cambridge University said the arsenic could lead to higher rates of cancer, the BBC said Thursday.

He estimated about 140 million people, especially those living in South and East Asia, are ingesting arsenic through drinking water and from locally grown rice.

The metal, which is naturally present in soil, leaches into groundwater, the BBC said. Rice plants absorb arsenic from the soil as they grow.

And:

INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 30 A manufacturer of microwave popcorn based in Indiana has decided to remove a potentially dangerous flavoring chemical from its products.

The family-owned Weaver Popcorn Co. makes Pop Weaver popcorn, several private brands and "Trails End," a brand sold by the Boy Scouts of America.

Mike Weaver, the company's chief executive officer, told The Seattle Post-Intelligencer the decision to take diacetyl out of its popcorn came partly because of a study by the Environmental Protection Agency that was only released to the industry.

"We have to have good flavors, but at the same time we have to have ingredients that consumers feel good about and we were hearing too many concerns raised about diacetyl," he said. "With these growing concerns and with EPA's actions, we felt it was prudent to stop using diacetyl and we have."

Diacetyl occurs naturally in many foods and is used to provide the buttery flavor for microwave popcorn. The chemical has been linked to serious respiratory diseases among workers in food-processing plants.

And the usual recall of contaminated beef and some sausage.

Eat at your own peril...

Update: don't forget your spinach.

Update 9/5: First case of popcorn lung.