Key Takeaways
- A new study detected chlormequat, a pesticide linked to infertility issues in animal studies, in many food and urine samples.
- Chlormequat is not approved for use in foods grown in the U.S., but it's allowed in imported foods.
- Organic oats and wheat grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers likely have no chlormequat.
Cheerios and Quaker Oats might contain chlormequat, a pesticide linked to infertility in animals, according to a new study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG).
Chlormequat is not currently approved for use in food grown in the United States. However, researchers detected the chemical in 77 of the 96 urine samples collected between 2017 and 2023. The presence of chlomequat was consistent throughout the years, but its concentration spiked in 2023.
Last year, the EWG also found chlormequat in 92% of the oat-based foods tested, including Cheerios and Quaker Oats.
Although chlormequat is prohibited from direct use on U.S. crops, high temperatures in food processing can create low levels of chlormequat in wheat products and egg powder. And since 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has permitted the importing of oats, wheat, barley, and some animal products treated with chlormequat. The EPA even increased the allowable limit of chlormequat in oats in 2020.
A spokesperson for General Mills, the company that makes Cheerios, told Verywell in an email that all of its products “adhere to all regulatory requirements.”
Findings from the pilot study and existing animal data raise concerns and warrant more monitoring of chlormequat in food and people, said Alexis Temkin, PhD, a senior toxicologist at the Environmental Working Group and lead author of the pilot study.
“EPA only recently started allowing levels of it in foods starting in 2018, and we think that the EPA essentially didn’t assess all the risks to human health based on some of the animal studies and the data coming from there,” Temkin told Verywell.
What Are the Health Risks of Chlormequat?
In the early 2000s, researchers evaluated the effect of chlormequat on reproductive health in animals. A Danish study in 2006 found that the chemical had negative impacts on sperm production in male rats and reproductive function in pigs, while a 2009 study did not find an impact on reproductive traits in male pigs.
A 2020 study found that when pregnant rats were exposed to chlormequat at levels deemed safe by the World Health Organization and the EPA, it elevated growth hormone levels in the embryos and harmed the health of the babies after birth.
Michael Hansen, PhD, a senior scientist at Consumer Reports, told Verywell that the EPA’s safe levels of chlormequat are considered “no observed adverse effect level,” but the adverse effects were observed in rats.
Although the health effect of chlormequat has not been studied in humans, it’s common to use animal study results when making decisions about the safety of pesticides because researchers can’t deliberately expose humans to some of these chemicals, Hansen added.
“They’re now finding that some of these plant growth regulators can have effects in mammals and elsewhere. And the concern, particularly with chlormequat, is it looks like it is interfering in some hormonal systems,” Hansen said.
Can You Avoid Chlormequat?
Farmers in Canada and Europe already use chlormequat on certain crops. The EPA announced last year that it was considering allowing American farmers to use the chemical, but a decision has not been made.
“Based on EPA’s human health risk assessment, there are no dietary, residential, or aggregate risks of concern,” a spokesperson for the EPA told Verywell in an email.
Look for the USDA Certified Organic seal on your food if you want to avoid chlormequat. Organic oats are grown without most synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. In the EWG study, only one out of the eight organic oat-based foods tested had low levels of chlormequat.
“We recommend limiting exposure because we believe the animal studies are concerning and you can do that likely by choosing organic oats,” Temkin said.
What This Means For You
A new study highlighted the presence of chlormequat, a pesticide linked to infertility in animals, in popular oat-based foods such as Cheerios and Quaker Oats. Consumers looking to minimize their exposure to chlormequat may consider choosing organic oat products, which are grown mostly without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers.
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Cheerios and Oats Might Contain a Toxic Pesticide. Here's What You Should Know - Verywell Health
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