Earlier this year the Environmental Working Group (EWG) published a report outlining the prevalence of Chlormequat in commercial oat products. Many popular brands had Chlormequat at levels much higher than what is generally acceptable as safe.
In plants, Chlormequat is used to keep the plant from bending over. It’s use started in the US in 1962 for ornamental plants, but eventually growers found that the straighter stalks makes grain easier to harvest. In 2018, despite reservations about its effects on health, the Trump EPA permitted the import of foreign grown food with trace amounts of Chlormequat at 15 ppb (parts per billion), and in 2020 increased permitted levels in oats up to 40 ppb.
The Biden EPA did nothing to reduce levels, and it looks like we’ll be stuck with this toxin in our food system for a while. While RFK Jr may try to do something as the proposed new Health & Human Services Secretary, it looks like he’ll be stuck with an proposed Agriculture Secretary, Brooke Rollins, who comes from the America First Policy Institute and regarded as business friendly.
With regards to the humans that consume Chlormequat, what we have is studies on mammals that show higher levels of consumption correlated with the following problems:
Chlormequat is especially dangerous for children and disrupts fetal growth, so please don’t give them Cheerios, along with the other products listed below. A safe level is regarded as <30 ppb (parts per billion).
Product Levels of Chlormequat (>30 ppb considered safe)
Quaker Old-Fashioned Oats 290 ppb
Walmart Great Value Oats & Honey Granola 180 ppb
Quaker Instant Oatmeal Maple & Brown Sugar 170 ppb
Quaker Oatmeal Squares Honey Nut 160 ppb
General Mills Cheerios 105 ppb
General Mills Cheerios Oat Crunch & Honey 90 ppb
Good & Gather French Vanilla Almond Granola 90 ppb
Vanilla Almond Granola 90 ppb
Quaker Oatmeal Squares Brown Sugar 90 ppb
Quaker Chewy Dark Chocolate Hunk 80 ppb
Quaker Simply Granola Oats Honey & Almonds 70 ppb
General Mills Frosted Cheerios 40 ppb
General Mills Honey Nut Cheerios 30 ppb
Kellogg’s Special K Fruit & Yogurt 0 (non-detectable)
My recommendation: With the possible exception of Kellogg’s Special K Fruit & Yogurt and General Mills Honey Nut Cheerios, avoid all commercial oats and oat-based products, and just use organic oats. Not only does this protect your family, it sends an economic message to food corporations to get this chemical out of our food.
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