A new study shows that four out of five Americans are being exposed to the pesticide chlormequat, a chemical commonly found in grain-based foods like Quaker Oats and Cheerios.
Chlormequat is used to help increase the amount of crops being grown, but its consumption is tied to delayed puberty, infertility, and altered fetal growth in animals.
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) published the study in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology on Thursday stating that the “highly toxic agricultural chemical” is federally allowed to be used on oats and grains imported to America.
“Just as troubling, we detected the chemical in 92% of oat-based foods purchased in May 2023, including Quaker Oats and Cheerios,” the EWG stated.
The high concentration of the pesticide found in the positive tests shows that Americans routinely come into contact with the pesticide. The study states that the chemicals leave the body within 24 hours so the fact that 80% of Americans tested positive shows how common it is to be exposed to chlormequat.
Another alarming aspect of the study concerns the growing frequency of exposure in subjects tested in 2023 compared to 2017. The data shows that exposure to the chemical is more common now.
The EWG’s tests “found higher levels and more frequent detections of chlormequat in the 2023 samples…which suggests consumer exposure to chlormequat could be on the rise.”
According to the New York Post, chlormequat was detected in 69% of study participants in 2017, 74% of the participants between 2018 and 2022, and the final 90% of participants in 2023.
The New York Post also reported that the EWG “would continue studying chlormequat and its harmful effects, and called for answers from the federal government, including whether the Food and Drug Administration should mandate that US foods be tested for chlormequat.”
Studies on the actual effect of chlormequat on humans are ongoing, but the EWG declared its opposition to a 2023 decision by the Biden administration to allow the first-ever use of chlormequat on barley, oat, triticale, and wheat grown in the US
And who is proposing to allow the first-ever use of this dangerous chemical, chlormequat, on barley, oat, triticale, and wheat grown in the US?
The US Environmental Protection Agency under President Joe Biden’s administration. https://t.co/4SkIxURAgU
— Courtney Holland 🇺🇸 (@hollandcourtney) February 15, 2024
