(NewsNation) — Americans are being exposed to a chemical found in oat-based foods, including Cheerios and Quaker Oats, that can pose a risk to reproductive and developmental health, according to a new study.
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) found that four in five, or 80%, of Americans, tested positive for a harmful additive called chlormequat — linked to reduced fertility, altered fetal growth and delayed puberty.
Chlormequat is a toxic “agricultural chemical” used to alter a plant’s growth, per the EWG.
Additionally, EWG’s tests found higher levels and more frequent detection of chlormequat in 2023 samples, compared to those from 2017 through 2022. This suggests consumer exposure to chlormequat could be on the rise, researchers said.
In 2017, chlormequat was detected in 69% of study participants. The number increased to 74% between 2018 and 2022 and spiked to 90% in 2023.
“Just as troubling, we detected the chemical in 92% of oat-based foods purchased in May 2023, including Quaker Oats and Cheerios,” the EWG said in a report published alongside their findings.
Since chlormequat typically leaves the body within 24 hours, these findings suggest Americans are regularly being exposed to the chemical, according to the report.
EWG also tested 20 more oat-based foods for chlormequat — seven organic, 13 nonorganic, and nine wheat-based products; however, it didn’t specify which brands’ foods it tested.
Detectable levels of chlormequat were found in 92% of nonorganic oat-based foods, while only two samples of wheat-based foods — both bread — had low levels of of the chemical.
Only one of the seven organic samples had low levels of chlormequat.
Until the government puts parameters around the use of chlormequat, the EWG urged consumers to opt for products with organic oats growth without synthetic chemicals like chlormequat.