The Girl Scouts of America is facing a class-action lawsuit over claims that its cookies contain heavy metals and pesticides.
Filed in federal court on Monday (March 10) by New York resident Amy Mayo and other consumers, the lawsuit seeks at least $5 million from Girl Scouts of America and its cookie manufacturers, Ferrero U.S.A. and Interbake Foods.
In the suit, Mayo cites a 2024 study commissioned by Moms Across America and GMO Science, which tested the cookies for toxic metals and herbicide glyphosate/AMPA.
The findings revealed, “100% of the samples were positive for glyphosate, 100% were positive for toxic metals, 22 out of 25 (88%) of samples were positive for all five toxic metals, 76% were positive for levels of cadmium that exceed EPA limits in water, and 24 out of 25 (96%) of samples were positive for lead.”
The suit further claims that the organization is using kids to rake in at least $1 billion annually from cookie sales.
It’s unclear whether Mayo personally experienced any health issues from consuming Girl Scout cookies or if her claims are solely based on the study’s findings.
While Girl Scouts has not publicly commented on the lawsuit, it did reply to the study in a February 6 blog post, noting, “The health and safety of Girl Scouts and cookie customers is our top priority. Rest assured: Girl Scout Cookies are safe to consume.”
The organization emphasized that its cookies are manufactured in compliance with all food safety regulations and that heavy metals can occur naturally in soil and trace amounts of glyphosate can be found in produce.
“These metals are not added to our Girl Scout Cookies,” the organization said.
The study, conducted by consumer groups GMOScience and Moms Across America, tested 11 cookie varieties, including Adventurefuls, Caramel deLites (Samoas), Peanut Butter Sandwich (Do-si-dos), Girl Scout S’mores, Lemonades, Lemon-Ups, Peanut Butter Patties (Tagalongs), Thin Mints, Toast-Yay!, Toffee-tastic, and Trefoils.
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The study’s controversial findings gained traction on TikTok earlier this year, with some users claiming that the FDA had recalled Girl Scout cookies. However, both Forbes and People reported that this is untrue.
According to People, the study compared the findings to EPA water safety standards, which do not apply to food, rather than FDA food safety standards.
Forbes further clarified that both the FDA and USDA allow certain levels of pesticides and metals in food at amounts deemed non-harmful.
“Based on current FDA regulations, there is no evidence that the cookies pose a health risk,” Forbes noted.
