New Cancer Concerns with a Popular Cereal Sold Here in Maine

I used to eat so much cereal.

When I was a kid, I had my own special bowl for cereal. It was a small plastic mixing bowl that had a little handle on the side. I would fill nit to the brim with whatever I was into at the moment... Captain Crunch, Alphabits... I loved all those things. It was my Saturday morning routine.

These days, I don't eat cereal as much. At my age now, I try to be a bit healthier and make healthier choices. Sometimes that can be hard to do. No because you don't make the effort, but it seems like every day we find out that something that's historically been good for us, is now the worst thing ever. One of Maine's most popular cereals could be finding itself in that category.

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A certain pesticide is becoming more prevalent, and it's linked to cancer.

Have you ever heard of chlormequat chloride? Me neither, until today. It's a chemical being used more and more, and it has links to potential cancer concerns. It helps the grain it's sprayed with, to stay upright better and make it easier to harvest. And while it's not used in the US, it is found on most of the oats and other grains we're bringing into the US.

Where we are seeing this chemical in the states is in popular brands of cereals like Cheerios and Quaker Oats. What's scary, is that this chemical has become so prevalent, it's detectable in 80% of people tested for it. Which means it's pretty much everywhere.

Both of these products are everywhere on Maine store shelves, so it's a definite concern. However, many corporations react swiftly when it becomes obvious that there's a safety concern with their products. So let's hope some changes are made somewhere to get all this feeling safe again. On the other hand, you do want to know when these things are happening, right?

How many of these cereals do you remember from back in the day?