Recent reports suggest that Roundup herbicide residue may still be found in oat-based products such as Cheerios cereal and Nature Valley bars.

On June 12, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) reported that companies are still allowing glyphosate to find its way into their breakfast products. When glyphosate is sprayed on wheat products before harvesting, trace amounts of the herbicide may make their way into finished breakfast products. Although organic crops are not sprayed with the herbicide, glyphosate may make its way into these crops if the herbicide drifts from nearby conventional crops.

Glyphosate is the main ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide. Over the past few years, glyphosate has been at the center of lawsuits from consumers claiming that the herbicide caused various types of cancer including non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

It is unclear if glyphosate in oat products poses the same health risks alleged findings that glyphosate was making its way into oat based products. The group reportedly used independent laboratory testing to determine how much, if any, glyphosate was found in oat based products. The herbicide was reportedly found in 95 percent of samples made with conventionally grown oats and in 31 percent of samples made with organic oats.

Although the amount of Roundup herbicide in breakfast products is below the legal limit, EWG argues that it is above their own recommended standards. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allows up to 310 parts per million (ppm) of glyphosate in food products. In contrast, the EWG maintains that there should be a much lower threshold for the possible carcinogen and recommends food items consumed by children to contain less than 160 parts per billion (ppb).

More recently, the EWG retested several breakfast products to see if they contained more than their recommended level of glyphosate. The product with the highest amount of glyphosate measured was Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch, which was shown to have 833 ppb of glyphosate. Cheerios Toasted Whole Grain Oat Cereal had the second highest level of glyphosate with 729 ppb.

Other products were shown to contain more glyphosate than what the EWG deems as safe or recommended. The products which tested above the EWG’s benchmark are:

• Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheerios (400 ppb)
• Cheerios Oat Crunch Cinnamon (283 ppb)
• Multi Grain Cheerios (216 ppb)
• Nature Valley Baked Oat Bites (389 ppb)
• Nature Valley Granola Peanut Butter Creamy & Crunchy (198 ppb)
• Nature Valley Granola Protein Oats n Dark Chocolate (261 ppb)
• Nature Valley Fruit & Nut Chewy Trail Mix Granola Bars, Dark Chocolate Cherry (275 ppb)
• Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars, Oats and Honey (320 ppb)
• Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars, Peanut Butter (312 ppb)
• Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars, Maple Brown Sugar (566 ppb)
• Nature Valley Soft-Baked Oatmeal Squares, Blueberry (206 ppb)
• Nature Valley Granola Cups, Almond Butter (529 ppb)
• Nature Valley Granola Cups, Peanut Butter Chocolate (297 ppb)
• Nature Valley Biscuits with Almond Butter (194 ppb)
• Fiber One Oatmeal Raisin Soft-Baked Cookies (204 ppb)

Several of the products tested were within the EWG’s benchmark, including:

• Honey Nut Cheerios (147 ppb)
• Nature Valley Fruit & Nut Chewy Trail Mix Granola Bars, Dark Chocolate & Nut (76 ppb)
• Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Nut Granola Bars, Cashew (158 ppb)
• Nature Valley Soft-Baked Oatmeal Squares, Cinnamon Brown Sugar (124 ppb)

The EWG says that these results reaffirm their findings that glyphosate is consistently found in children’s food products in levels that are above their recommended levels.

“The only way to quickly remove this cancer-causing weedkiller from foods marketed to children is for companies like General Mills and Quaker to use oats from farmers who do not use glyphosate as a desiccant,” the EWG concludes.

If you or a loved one developed cancer after using Roundup as a farm worker or home gardener, you may have a legal claim. Legal migrant farm workers may also seek help. Learn more by filling out the form on this page for a FREE case evaluation.

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