80% of Americans Test Positive for Chemical Found in Some Cereals That May Cause Infertility

A recent peer-reviewed paper published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology reveals that a vast majority of Americans have been exposed to a harmful agricultural chemical.

This chemical, chlormequat chloride, has been associated with disrupted fetal growth, reproductive system damage, delayed puberty, and reduced fertility in animal studies.

The study was conducted by the Environmental Working Group, known for their advocacy on chemical issues.

They analyzed chlormequat chloride levels in oat-based foods and suggested that the current exposure levels necessitate further research into its toxicity through testing and monitoring.

Originally registered in 1962 as a plant growth regulator to strengthen cereal crops by preventing stalk bending, chlormequat chloride is now being recognized as harmful to mammals despite its initial use to protect wildlife according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

In the 1980s, Danish pig farmers noticed a decline in reproduction among pigs fed chlormequat treated grains.

Subsequent research in a controlled lab setting confirmed their observations, with female pigs showing disrupted estrus cycles and mating difficulties when fed chlormequat-treated grain compared to those on a control diet.

Male mice exposed to the chemical also exhibited reduced sperm fertilization capacity when ingesting it through food or water.

Despite these findings, when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed registering new uses of chlormequat as a pesticide in April 2023, they stated that there were no concerns regarding human exposure risks from dietary, residential, or combined exposures to chlormequat.

However, the study suggests that “more recent reproductive toxicity studies on chlormequat show delayed onset of puberty, reduced sperm motility, decreased weights of male reproductive organs, and decreased testosterone levels in rats exposed during sensitive windows of development, including during pregnancy and early life.”

The researchers at EWG acknowledged that while other studies have not shown similar effects on animal test subjects, they suggested that these discrepancies warrant further investigation.

Chlormequat, a substance that can occur naturally from choline precursors in wheat products and egg powder under high temperatures, was found to have entered the American food supply after the EPA established acceptable tolerance levels for the pesticide in imported oat, wheat, barley, and other products in 2018.

These permissible levels were reportedly raised for oats in 2020. Although imported products containing traces of chlormequat were admitted, the EPA only permits its use on ornamental plants grown within the U.S.

In a study conducted by EWG researchers, 96 urine samples from American residents across three geographical regions were analyzed between 2017 and 2023. The study revealed that chlormequat was detected in 80% of all urine samples.

“Detection frequencies were higher in 2023 samples compared to 2017 and 2018 to 2022 samples with 16 of 23, or 69%, 17 of 23, or 74% and 45 of 50, or 90% of samples with detections, respectively,” said the study.

The researchers at EWG found that most of the 25 conventional oat-based products purchased in 2022 and 2023 contained detectable levels of chlormequat, with only two exceptions. Among the cereals reportedly affected were Quaker Oats and Cheerios.

Although the pesticide levels detected in urine samples from this study were significantly lower than the U.S. EPA’s reference dose (RfD), EWG highlighted that even smaller doses have been shown to decrease fertility in mice and pigs.

“Given the toxicological concerns associated with chlormequat exposure in animal studies, and widespread exposure to the general population, in European countries, and now also likely in the U.S., monitoring of chlormequat in foods and people, in conjunction with epidemiological and animal studies, is urgently needed to understand the potential health harms of this agricultural chemical at environmentally relevant exposure levels, particularly during pregnancy,” the researchers concluded.

The EWG suggested in a report corresponding with its study, “Until the government fully protects consumers, you can reduce your exposure to chlormequat by choosing products made with organic oats, which are grown without synthetic pesticides such as chlormequat.”

The New York Post reported that General Mills, the producer of Cheerios, and PepsiCo, the maker of Quaker Oats, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“The federal government has a vital role in ensuring that pesticides are adequately monitored, studied and regulated,” Alexis Temkin, a toxicologist at EWG and lead author on the study, told the Daily Mail. “Yet the EPA continues to abdicate its responsibility to protect children from the potential health harms of toxic chemicals like chlormequat in food.”

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