Your Breakfast Cereal Could Be Loaded With This Scary Toxin

Added sugar isn't the only bad-for-you substance lurking in your bowl.

Next time you pour yourself a hearty bowl of oat flakes, think about this: Your super nutritious morning meal might be contaminated with a health-harming mold. A new study from the American Chemical Society analyzed almost 500 breakfast cereals made with various grains, and the oat-based cereals were found to contain worrisome levels of a common toxic mold that’s been linked to cancer.

The toxin, called ochratoxin (OTA), occurs naturally when food isn’t stored properly; it’s been caught lurking in everything from pork to peas. OTA is regulated in Europe because it’s been found to cause kidney cancer in animals, and the World Health Organization believes it may be a human carcinogen as well. Yet it’s not monitored here in the United States.

To get a sense of how much of the stuff might be hiding in U.S. cereals, a research team writing in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry devised a study. Researchers bought 489 types of cereal made from corn, wheat, oats, and rice. After analyzing samples, they found that up to 48 percent of the cereals were contaminated with OTA. The good news is, the level of contamination didn’t typically exceed the healthy limits set by European regulations. What is troubling, though, is that eight percent of the oat-based cereals tested did come in over that healthy threshold. Ick.

Researchers concluded that the processing and storing of oats needs to be monitored more closely. But what does it mean if your favorite way to start the day is with a bowl of oatmeal or a yummy oatmeal smoothie? Don’t give it up. “While OTA is not harmless, most studies are done in animals and not people, and the levels in our diet are at least 25 times lower than the threshold set by the EU,” says Maggie Moon, R.D., a Los Angeles-based nutritionist and owner of Everyday Healthy Eating. Still, it’s a smart idea to safeguard your cereal by bagging the cardboard box and storing it in a cool, dry place in an airtight container. “I'd hate for someone to cut out a healthful food like oatmeal because of this study, but it is a good reminder to pay attention to food safety,” says Moon.