A day care company has stopped serving Cheerios in response to a recent report from an advocacy organization showing potentially dangerous amounts of an ingredient in weed killer in the popular finger food for toddlers. Bob Fila—TNS

A North American day care company with nine Chicago-area locations has stopped serving Cheerios in response to a recent report from an advocacy organization showing potentially dangerous am-ounts of an ingredient in weed killer in the popular finger food for toddlers.

“I think we need to err on the side of caution and make the decision that any possibility is too great,” said Jackie Kardesh, director of marketing and operations for Kids & Co., which operates centers in Chicago, Schaumburg, and Geneva. The chain sent a letter home to parents last week stating that Kids & Co. would replace Cheerios with Chex Mix in all nine of its Chicago locations and another in Boston.

Meanwhile, local pediatricians caution that while parents and child care providers should do what makes them feel comfortable when it comes to protecting children, the report from the Environmental Working Group should not spark panic about dangers in popular breakfast foods.

“Whenever you see a one-off article like that, you have to do more investigation,” said Dr. Scott Goldstein, a pediatrician for the Northwestern Children’s Practice. “When the EPA or the American Academy of Pediatrics, or Centers for Disease Control talks about taking away Cheerios, then my ears would perk up,” Goldstein said.

Concerns over popular breakfast foods including Cheerios and other cereals, granola bars and instant oats, began last week after reports that the items tested were found to contain potentially dangerous amounts of cancer-linked glyphosate, the main ingredient in weed killer.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG), an environmental advocacy organization that conducted the study, said on Aug. 15 that glyphosate was found in all but five of 29 oat-based foods that were tested.

Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup, the most heavily used pesticide in the U.S. Every year, according to the EWG, more than 250 million pounds of glyphosate is sprayed on American crops.

The World Health Organization has determined that glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic to humans,” and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set a safety level for the potentially dangerous chemical. Earlier this month, Monsanto was ordered by a court to pay nearly $300 million to a man who claims his terminal cancer was caused by exposure to Roundup. Hundreds of other cases are working their way through the courts.

But Monsanto strongly disputes the finding that glyphosate is a probable carcinogen and notes that over four decades, the EPA has consistently supported the safe and effective use of glyphosate.

Kardesh, of Kids & Co., said she and the company’s chief food ambassador decided to pull Cheerios from its day care centers. The company tries to stay apprised of any potential nutritional threats, as well as recalls on products made for children. Each day care — including another 90 in Canada _ has a bulletin board dedicated to posting all the recalls and latest news about nutrition for children, Kardesh said.

“You just have to do what you feel is appropriate for either your experience as a parent or as a mother,” Kardesh said. “In this case, I did feel and I think the people on our team agreed that this was the right decision as an organization.”

Dr. Nicola Orlov, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Chicago, said the barrage of reports on potential risks in products can be overwhelming for parents, and she hears from many of them in her practice.

“It’s easy to go crazy as a parent if you read every study that comes out, and you can probably be led to decide that exclusively breastfeeding your child for their entire life is the only option,” Orlov joked.

“What I tend to recommend to parents is when there are things on the news, if they make you nervous, the safest thing to do is hold off on consuming that product until you really know what the FDA is saying,” Orlov said.

Goldstein said that after last week’s reports, he took the time to read the study more closely and felt less concerned about the health risks when he learned the report came from an organization of activists — and not a government entity responsible for citizen safety.

He said he told his own wife she would be safe continuing to eat Quaker oats for breakfast, as she has for the last 20 years. And he’s telling parents that Cheerios and other oat products are likely not a risk for now.

“If you’re seeing something that makes you panic, and it’s the only time you’ve ever seen it, there’s probably a reason that you haven’t heard of it before,” Goldstein said. “I would consider snack foods and sugary foods a far bigger health threat than Cheerios.”