Harvested rice is combined with water and a process aid to provide a mixture of rice, water and the process aid. The combination is maintained for a time sufficient for at least a portion of heavy metal contaminants, predominantly heavy metal ions, to be separated from the rice. Thereafter, at least a portion of the water and the process aid are separated from the combination, leaving rice that has a reduced content of heavy metals.將水和加工助劑跟收成後的稻米加以組合，以提供稻米、水、及加工助劑之混合物。將混合物保持一定時間，其足以從稻米分離出至少一部分重金屬污染物(大部分是重金屬離子)；此後，從混合物分離出至少一部分水和加工助劑，留下具有降低重金屬含量的稻米。
