Background and purpose: Rice is one of the most widely consumed cereal, and one of the major components of the food basket of approximately 2.4 billion people in the world. In Iran it is the second staple crop after wheat. This study aimed at investigating the level of different heavy metals (cadmium, arsenic, and lead) in rice consumed in Hormozgan province, 2014.

Materials and methods: An analytical cross-sectional study that was carried out in 75 samples of Iranian, Pakistani, and Indian rice consumed in Hormozgan province in 2014. The samples were randomly selected and analyzed.

Results: The mean concentrations of arsenic, lead and cadmium were 0.045, 0.057 and 0.022 mg/kg, respectively. The maximum level of arsenic was found in unauthorized Indian rice (0.033 mg/kg) and the maximum lead content was observed in unauthorized Pakistani rice (0.070 mg/kg).

Conclusion: Due to the high consumption of rice in the country and contamination of rice with heavy metals, it is important to choose safe products to avoid accumulative effect of these metals on human health.