Girl scout cookies are a beloved treat that most people can feel good about buying, however, a new lawsuit is alleging that they aren’t as wholesome as you might hope. Filed in Brooklyn, the suit is a class-action lawsuit representing consumers of Girl Scout Cookies being led by a Bayside, Brooklyn resident, which alleges that the cookies contain heavy metals and pesticides. The lawsuit is being brought against both the Girl Scouts and the makers of the cookies, ABC Bakers and Ferrero USA’s Little Brownie Bakers.
The accusation in the suit is based on a report released in December of 2024 from the organizations GMO Science and Moms Across America, which alleged to have found toxic metals and other chemicals in Girl Scout Cookies. The study is particularly concerned with glyphosate, an herbicide that is widely used in U.S. agriculture. And while glyphosate was found in all of the tested cookies, the highest levels were found in the Girl Scout’s Thin Mints.
While the report alleges that elevated levels of glyphosate can cause a host of problems including cancer, miscarriages, neurotoxicity, and autism, EPA standards consider that a GMO myth, with its current use deemed safe for consumption and without any scientific evidence supporting the claims against it. The Girl Scouts have released a statement rebutting the claims made by the study, saying that all of its cookies are made in compliance with food safety standards from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Which metals were found, and what does it all mean?
While the report from GMO Science and Moms Across America says that Thin Mints had the highest levels of glyphosate, it named Peanut Butter Patties as the most contaminated with elevated levels of lead and aluminum. The testing supposedly showed that 100% of cookies were positive for toxic metals and 88% were positive for all five of the metals that it tested for: aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury. The report claims that 76% of the cookies had levels of cadmium above what the EPA recommends for drinking water, and 96% of the cookies contained lead.
The EPA does not legally set an acceptable level of lead in food, except in candy aimed at children, which had a recommended level of 100 parts per billion, which is about twice as high as the levels found in the Peanut Butter Patties. However, debate is ongoing as to whether lead in food should be subject to stricter standards in the future.
The Girl Scout organization’s response to the allegations points out that these metals are all naturally occurring in soil, which means that any foods that use plant-based ingredients will contain them, and that the levels found in its cookies are considered safe. It also points out that glyphosate is widely used and present almost everywhere in the food chain. As for whether the alleged elevated levels found by GMO Science and Moms Across America constitute a real health risk, that will be up to the courts to decide.
