Girl Scouts cookies are filled with “aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury,” as well as pesticides, a New York woman claims in a lawsuit.
The plaintiff, Amy Mayo, said Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. and its cookie manufacturers, Ferrero U.S.A. and Interbake Foods (also known as ABC Bakers), violated consumer protection laws by making false claims about the safety and quality of its products. She filed a class-action lawsuit against the popular cookies over their alleged ingredients.
Girls Scouts of the U.S.A. has previously pushed back on the allegations, saying in a February blog post that their cookies were “made with ingredients that adhere to food safety standards set by the FDA and other relevant authorities.”
The allegation that the cookies contain potentially harmful levels of heavy metals and pesticides relies heavily on a December 2024 study commissioned by the group Moms Across America and GMO Science.
The study was not published in a scientific journal, nor was it peer-reviewed. It relied on a small sample of 25 cookies across three states to make its allegations and compared levels in the cookies to safety limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency rather than the Food and Drug Administration.
Right-wing podcast host Joe Rogan elevated the study by featuring it on his popular show The Joe Rogan Experience in February. That led “special government employee” and the world’s richest man Elon Musk to also comment about it on X.
The class action lawsuit seeks $5 million in damages and an injunction for the cookie sellers to disclose the heavy metal and pesticide content on their packaging.
However, days after filing the lawsuit, Mayo filed a motion to dismiss the case . A judge has yet to rule on that motion.
Girl Scouts have said that the “heavy metals” found in the cookies can occur naturally in the environment and soil, meaning many foods may contain trace amounts, but that they are not necessarily harmful to consume.
“Our bakers have confirmed that the levels reported do not pose a food safety concern to our customers,” Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. wrote in the blog post.
Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. declined to comment on ongoing litigation.
The Girl Scout Cookie program has been ongoing since 1917. Its purpose is to teach young girls about leadership skills that are critical for success, including setting goals, creating a plan, budgeting and making decisions.
The cookies are sold by registered Girl Scouts from January to April, with proceeds supporting local troops.
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