What's the News?
On Thursday, February 15th a study was published in The Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology that showed Chlormequat (a highly toxic agricultural chemical/pesticide) was found in 92% of oat-based foods sold in May 2023, including Quaker Oats and Cheerios.
Temkin, A.M., Evans, S., Spyropoulos, D.D. et al. A pilot study of chlormequat in food and urine from adults in the United States from 2017 to 2023. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol (2024).
What is Chlormequat?
Chlormequat is a highly toxic agricultural chemical/pesticide that alters plant growth. When Chlormequat is applied to oat and grain crops it stops the plants from bending over, making harvesting easier.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allows the use of chlormequat on ornamental plants (plants solely grown for beauty), not food crops grown in the US.
The problem is that since 2018, chlormequat has been allowed on imported oats and foods.
The Problem with Chlormequat
There have been studies showing chloromequat can damage the reproductive system and disrupt fetal growth in animals (1), as well as cause disruption to embryonic growth and postnatal adverse effects when exposed during pregnancy (2).
Currently, there are NO established studies done on the health problems in humans.
What You Can Do
Avoid: Quaker, General Mills, Kelloggs, Good and Gather
When it comes to your oat products, choose organic. According to the EWG, only 1 in 7 organic samples found to contain low levels of chlormequat.
Give Yourself Some Grace
It is so easy to let fear and guilt run rampant when news like this is released. But we can’t know what we don’t know, and we can’t control what we don’t know.
Stress and fear has its own slew of health damaging effects - so throw out your Cheerios, take a deep breath, and get some fresh air.
You’re doing the best you can, and you’re going to be okay.
Sources:
1
Sørensen MT, Danielsen V. Effects of the plant growth regulator, chlormequat, on mammalian fertility. Int J Androl. 2006 Feb;29(1):129-33. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2605.2005.00629.x. PMID: 16466532.
2
Xiagedeer B, Hou X, Zhang Q, Hu H, Kang C, Xiao Q, Hao W. Maternal chlormequat chloride exposure disrupts embryonic growth and produces postnatal adverse effects. Toxicology. 2020 Sep;442:152534. doi: 10.1016/j.tox.2020.152534. Epub 2020 Jul 2. PMID: 32622971.
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