WINNIPEG — The Prairie Oat Growers Association is pushing back against allegations that Canadian oats are contaminated with chemicals from a plant growth regulator.
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Brad Boettger, POGA chair and a farmer from east of Edmonton, said a recent study from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) is fear mongering to raise doubts about the safety of oats.
Canadians and other consumers who are worried about oats should consider who funds the EWG and the group’s agenda, he said.
“They are definitely a pro-organic, activist organization. Anything they can do to demonize conventional products…. We hope these (sort) of hit pieces that come out from (organizations) like the Environmental Working Group don’t push consumers into changing their purchasing decisions out of fear.”
On its website, the EWG says it is not funded by organic farmers or the organic food industry. It claims funding comes from charitable foundations and individual donations.
The “hit piece” that Boettger mentioned is an EWG study on oats and chlormequat, a plant growth regulator marketed as Manipulator.
Some Canadian farmers apply chlormequat to oats and other cereal crops to decrease the height of plants and reduce the risk of lodging.
The EWG study was published mid-February in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology. It looked at the presence of chlormequat in urine and food.
The scientists collected 96 urine samples from 2017-23, and chlormequat was detected in 77 samples, or 80 percent of cases.
The urine came from adults in Florida, South Carolina and Missouri.
The high rate of positive tests should raise “alarm bells,” the EWG said, because the “chemical is linked to reproductive and developmental problems in animal studies, suggesting the potential for similar harm to humans.”
The EWG also tested oat-based food, which was purchased in the summer of 2022 and May 2023. The researchers tested 25 samples of food made from conventional oats and detected traces of chlormequat 23 times, or 92 percent of samples.
“These findings and chlormequat toxicity data raise concerns about current exposure levels and warrant more expansive toxicity testing, food monitoring and epidemiological studies to assess health effects of chlormequat exposures in humans,” say the authors of the EWG study.
In its report, the EWG says the source of the chlormequat is likely Canadian farms because American growers aren’t allowed to apply the plant growth regulator to cereal crops.
The EWG study caught Canada’s oat industry off guard.
Oat buyers and companies that market oat food in North America haven’t raised the issue of chlormequat residues, Boettger said.
“As far as we’ve known, it’s never been a concern for the end users (of oats).”
How much chlormequat in oats?
The EWG purchased oat food made from conventional oats in 2022 and 2023.
Testing found residues were well below the Maximum Residue Level for oats:
- A median amount of 114 parts per billion in 2023 and 90 p.p.b. in 2022
- So, 104 p.p.b. for the 25 samples of oat food
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has a maximum residue limit (MRL) for chlormequat in oat grains of 40 parts per million. For oat bran, the MRL is 10 parts per million
It’s hard to comprehend parts per billion. One way to think about it is one p.p.b. is equal to one sheet of toilet paper in a roll that stretches from New York to London.
The EWG study detected 104 p.p.b. in oat food. That is 384 times smaller than the maximum residue level of 40,000 p.p.b.
Another way of explaining the difference between 40 p.p.m. and 0.104 p.p.m. is daily consumption of eggs.
Eating one egg per day is not a problem, but eating 384 eggs in a day would be extremely hazardous to your health.
“In my opinion, and POGA’s opinion, is that this is a good news story, if anything,” Boettger said.
“The fact that we’re 350 times lower than the maximum allowable. I would characterize it as kind of making a story where there isn’t one.”
There isn’t official data, but POGA estimates 10 to 20 percent of oat growers in Canada apply Manipulator to the crop.
Boettger has never applied it to his oats.
Some growers use it to prevent lodging.
“It’s more of a concern in the deep, black soils, where they get more rains,” Boettger said.
“The growers that get on the high end of vegetative growth and higher end yields … there is more chance of it lodging.”
It’s possible that the EWG report is connected to a pending EPA decision, in which it may approve chlormequat for use in America, Boettger added.
“It kind of seems like the Environmental Working Group might be trying to persuade public opinion prior to the EPA coming out with a ruling.”
The EWG has its reasons for studying oats and chlormequat, but reports on agricultural chemical residues in food do generate a great deal of attention.
Major news outlets in the U.S., such as the New York Post, Fox Business News and Newsweek, picked up the EWG report and wrote headlines such as, “Pesticide found in oats linked to infertility.”
As well, following the publication of a story on The Western Producer website, worried readers asked if it’s safe to eat oatmeal and oat cereals.
Looking ahead to this growing season, oat growers should talk to their buyers about chlormequat, Boettger said. However, he also emphasized that it is a registered and legal product for use in Canada, so growers can apply it to their oats.
“It’s been approved. It’s gone through rigorous scientific reviews through Health Canada.”
As for consumers, they should feel very confident that oats grown on Canadian farms are safe, he added.
“They can truly go to the grocery store … and (purchase) safe, healthy and nutritious products that we produce right here in Canada by great growers. If they have any concerns, find a local farmer and ask (the grower) how (the) food is produced.”
Contact robert.arnason@producer.com
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