Radiological risk assessment of natural radioactivity in imported rice consumed in Ghana and its implications for food safety and public health.

Rice is a staple food in many developing countries, and its role in public health has been a focus of research for decades. In Ghana, a developing country in sub-Saharan Africa, per capita rice consumption is estimated at 50 kg per person per year (2023/2024 marketing year). Meanwhile, in the same period, Ghana's milled rice production was estimated at 1.009 million metric tons, covering about 59% of the national consumption needs. And this is while, many developing countries often lack well-defined regulatory frameworks for pre-import evaluation of critical safety parameters in food products. To bridge the consumption gap, Ghana imports a significant portion of its rice, with imports forecasted at 950,000 metric tons. Despite the significance of imported rice in the national food supply, there is a notable lack of comprehensive radiological assessments focused on these products. Therefore, this study attempts to address this gap by analyzing radioactive contaminants-radium-226, radium-228, and potassium-40 -in imported rice consumed in Ghana. A total of 50 rice samples, with an average of 10 samples per brand from 5 distinct brands were collected from major markets in Accra, Kumasi, Tamale and analyzed using gamma-ray spectrometry with a High Purity Germanium (HPGe) detector. The mean activity concentrations were 2.13 ± 0.85 Bq/kg for