Lili He, professor and food science department head at UMass Amherst, has received an $800,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture – National Institute of Food and Agriculture to develop a faster, safer and more affordable way to test for arsenic in foods commonly consumed by infants and young children. 

The three-year project supports the FDA and USDA’s Closer to Zero (C2Z) initiative, a national effort to reduce toxic elements, such as arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury, in foods eaten by babies and young children. 

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“Inorganic arsenic is one of the most concerning chemical risks in infant and children’s foods,” He says. “Our goal is to develop a practical testing approach that helps manufacturers and regulators better monitor and reduce exposure.” 

The research focuses on high-risk foods such as apple juice and rice products, including infant rice cereal. While current laboratory testing methods are highly accurate, they are expensive, time consuming and require specialized personnel and equipment, limiting routine monitoring in manufacturing and smaller laboratory settings. 

He’s team will combine a safer, environmentally friendly chemical process with portable X-ray technology to measure arsenic levels more quickly and at a lower cost. The project includes collaboration with researchers at Texas Woman’s University, who will help validate the method to ensure reliability and reproducibility. 

If successful, the new approach could provide food producers and regulatory agencies with a practical tool for routine arsenic screening — strengthening food safety oversight and advancing national public health goals under the Closer to Zero initiative.