Official apologizes for comment on tainted rice

A government official in South China's Guangdong province apologized for his comment that cadmium-tainted rice is not toxic, China News Service reported on Tuesday.

Chen Shaomeng, deputy director of the agriculture bureau in Shaoguan city, said on Tuesday that his comment only represented his own opinion, not his bureau's, adding that he "now feels uneasy" about making the comment, according to the report.

At a recent discussion session about farmlands contaminated by heavy metals, Chen said cadmium-tainted rice is not toxic or harmful to people's health if only eaten for one or two years.