A fast and sensitive method using hydride generation (HG) with ICP-MS has been developed for the separation and detection of toxic inorganic arsenic (iAs) in foodstuffs. The iAs measured values in 31 commercial rice products all fell below the current legislative maximum level of 150 µg/kg set by China. Comparing the results obtained by HG-ICP-MS and HPLC-ICP-MS showed comparable limits of detection were achieved.