Ensuring Food Safety Lately, arsenic levels have been in question Rice grown in paddies in the south that once were cotton fields contain 1.76 times more arsenic than rice grown in California Banned pesticides heavily used in third world countries All pesticides used in California must first be registered at the US Environmental Protection Agency & the Department of Pesticide Regulation The California Rice Commission only supports registration of pesticides that do not have negative impacts on environment or economy Family farmers get rapid feedback on their crop