It is said that you can never go wrong with oatmeal.

They are one of the few foods that are considered extremely healthy and can be bought for little money.

They contain fiber and therefore keep you full for a long time.

The flakes stimulate the growth of healthy bacteria in the intestine and promote digestion.

They can even lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke.

Kim Maurus

volunteer.

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So it's best to always eat the flakes for breakfast?

Better not, show the results of a new study commissioned by the consumer magazine "Öko-Test".

For example, oat flakes from Rewe's and Aldi's own brands have "greatly increased" levels of mold toxins: With a 40-gram portion of oat flakes a day, the report says, an adult weighing 60 kilograms would already have that from the European exceed the tolerance level set by the Food Safety Authority.

According to the information, the exposure of a small child weighing fifteen kilograms would be more than four times the tolerable intake level.

“Toxins can weaken the immune system”

"Mould toxins in oatmeal are of course disgusting at first, but not only that," says Öko-Test spokeswoman Katja Tölle.

“The toxins found can weaken the immune system and have a cytotoxic effect.

And from oat flakes one expects exactly the opposite – that they are healthy.” The oat flakes are not acutely poisonous: “It is like so often: the dose makes the poison.” However, many people, including children, would eat oat flakes , eat daily.

The three most heavily contaminated products, "Golden Breakfast oat flakes pithy" (Norma), "Yes!

According to Tölle, you should no longer eat every day.

In this case, Öko-Test only tested crunchy oatmeal.

Öko-Test cannot therefore say whether the mold toxins are also found in the "tender" oat flakes of the brands.

The discounter Norma, which sells "Golden Breakfast oat flakes pithy", has already withdrawn its product from sale in response to the results.

"Rewe and Aldi should urgently follow suit," says Tölle.

Mold toxins could already attack the oats in the field, but also later, for example during storage.

Recognizing the infestation is the responsibility of the manufacturer.

You would have to sort out the infested goods.

Elevated levels of glyphosate

According to Tölle, Öko-Test regularly finds mold toxins, also in other foods, most recently in processed tomato products such as tomato sauce and tomato paste.

It is possible, says Tölle, that the toxins can also be ingested through other grains, nuts, corn or tomatoes.

Öko-Test found increased, but not "greatly increased" levels of toxins in the oat flakes of the "Every day oatmeal kernig" brand, which is sold by Edeka, among others.

In addition to mold toxins, Norma's product also contained increased levels of glyphosate, which the International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies as "probably carcinogenic".

The pesticide chlormequat was detected in small quantities in some organic products such as "Davert Großblatt Oatmeal" (Davert), "Bioland" (Basic) and the "Wurzener Bio Oatmeal Kernig" (Wurzener Nahrungsmittel).

According to the report by Öko-Test, the values ​​are low, but they exceeded the orientation value of the Federal Association of Natural Food and Natural Goods.

Some of the manufacturers are currently checking the values.

Of course, there is no reason for a general boycott of oat flakes: Öko-Test had a total of 29 different oat flakes tested.

In 18 cases, Öko-Test awarded the grade “very good”, partly without any pesticides or mold toxins being detected, partly only traces.

The best brands include the flakes from "Alnatura", the own brands of the drugstore chains Dm and Rossmann and the organic oat flakes from "Kölln".