80% of Americans test positive for toxic pesticide found in Cheerios, Quaker Oats that causes infertility, delayed puberty

The harmful pesticide called chlormequat is linked to delayed puberty, infertility, and altered fetal growth.

The study was conducted by the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology and published by the Environmental Working Group (EWG).

In North America, the use of chlormequat chloride, a plant growth regulator, on grain crops is increasing. According to toxicological research, the study finds that exposure to chlormequat, at dosages below what regulatory bodies use to determine acceptable daily consumption levels, may impair developing fetuses and diminish fertility.

Urine samples collected from people in the US between 2017 and 2022 showed low quantities of chlormequat, however, samples from 2023 showed much higher concentrations of the pesticide.

In 2023, 90 percent of individuals in the study tested positive for the pesticide, compared to 74 percent between 2018 and 2022. In 2017, 69 percent tested positive, the study shows.

The highest detection frequencies of chlormequat were found in oat-based foods.

The EWG writes that the United States federal government allows the "highly toxic agricultural chemical" to be imported into the country, which is then used on oats and other grains. According to the EWG, applying chlormequat to grain and oat crops changes the way a plant grows, preventing it from bending over and making harvesting easier.

The organization states in the report "We detected the chemical in 92 percent of oat-based foods purchased in May 2023, including Quaker Oats and Cheerios."

Cheerios is produced by General Mills and PepsiCo produces Quaker Oats.

EWG also tested for the pesticide on organic oat-based products and found that only one of the seven organic samples had low levels of chlormequat.

This high concentration of positive tests suggests that Americans are routinely exposed to the pesticide chlormequat, given that it typically exits the body within 24 hours, per the EWG.

The study "raises questions about whether it could also harm humans" after experimenting on animals, which showed that chlormequat damaged animal reproductive systems and disrupted fetal growth.