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Arsenic, Lead & Pesticides Were Found in Over 70 Cereals — Here’s What to Know
Yesterday, the Clean Label Project released a report on breakfast cereals and their “hidden toxins.” Specifically, the organization tested 77 different cereals, including favorites from General Mills, Kellogg’s and Post, for arsenic, acrylamide, bisphenols (like BPA or BPS), glyphosate, lead and pesticides.
Don’t worry, their findings were not all bad. Here’s the good news, and what you should be mindful of — plus a dietitian’s take on the conducted study. Out of the 77 cereals tested, there were four products that passed all of the tests, proving to be healthy options for both their nutritional value and their lack of contaminants and heavy metals. The following cereals are recommended by the Clean Label Project for back-to-school season:
Arrowhead Mills Puffed Kamut
Lovebird Cinnamon O’s
Love Grown Power Os Original
Three Wishes Cinnamon
Doritos as Farm-to-Table Snacks? Big Food, Under Duress, Gets Creative
Ah, Doritos: a classic farm-to-table food right up there with heirloom tomatoes, organic roasted chicken, and artisanal cheese boards sourced from local cows greeted each morning by name.
At least that’s what new marketing for the tangy chips seems to imply, with slogans like “PepsiCo partners with farmers to bring Doritos from the field to you” and images of corn seedlings and a farmer, clad in a PepsiCo hat, astride a rusted tractor.
Yet Doritos are famously ultra-processed, the antithesis of the “Eat Real Food” edict rolled out by health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as part of his Make America Healthy Again movement to fight chronic disease. Food industry experts say the Doritos ads show the food industry is scrambling to improve its image while avoiding more fundamental changes to the ultra-processed products that make up 60% of the American diet.
Screen-Free Nostalgia Hits the Cereal Aisle With the Return of Real Toys
As breakfast cereal sales have fallen, food manufacturers have turned to an old trick to try and attract consumers back: the cereal box prize. Breakfast cereal sales have fallen more than 13% in five years, from 2.47 billion units sold in 2021 to 2.14 billion units in 2025, according to NielsenIQ data, and some of the most colorful, eye-catching brands are on the verge of losing their bright visual appeal.
As consumer trends move away from artificial colors and toward natural food dyes, the biggest cereal makers are voluntarily replacing artificial dyes with natural colors that are more muted. For beleaguered brands looking to get your attention in grocery store aisles, the humble cereal box toy is one throwback strategy that some cereal makers are trying again.
Toys and other prizes were once commonly found in cereal boxes marketed to kids. These cheap, mass-produced plastic items were often released as tie-ins for cartoons and movies, but they eventually fell out of favor due to safety concerns and rising criticism of marketing sugary foods to children. In some cases, cereal makers replaced prizes by adding QR codes to their boxes for digital games or virtual experiences, like a Lucky Charms Journey to the Magic Gems mobile AR game released in 2022.
Popular Daily Drinking Habit Could Nearly Triple Risk of Deadly Cancer, Major Study Finds
Consuming a sugary drink a day may significantly raise the risk of developing stomach cancer, according to new research from Mass General Brigham. After accounting for other risk factors, the researchers found that one or more sugary drinks per day was linked to nearly triple the risk of gastric cancer compared with fewer than one serving per month.
Roughly two-thirds (63%) of U.S. adults report consuming sugar-sweetened beverages at least once a day, CDC data states. While earlier studies linked sugary drinks to higher rates of liver, breast and colorectal malignancies, their specific impact on gastric tissue remained unclear until now. The new study analyzed data from more than 100,000 participants in the Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study.
While earlier studies linked sugary drinks to higher rates of liver, breast and colorectal malignancies, their specific impact on gastric tissue remained unclear until now. The new study analyzed data from more than 100,000 participants in the Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study.
Ice Cream Makers Bet Consumers Still Want Treats, Just Healthier Ones
European Supermarket Magazine reported:
Ice cream companies may be enjoying a summer sales boost from soaring temperatures, but behind the scenes they are preparing for a future where consumers want fewer reasons to feel guilty about treating themselves. The rise of appetite-suppressing GLP-1 drugs, demand for healthier foods and growing ingredient scrutiny are pushing manufacturers to reduce portion sizes, increase protein content in their recipes and clean up ingredient lists.
US ice cream sales volumes fell 1.5% year-on-year through June 13, according to NielsenIQ, while Boston Consulting Group research shows GLP-1 users cut frozen treat consumption by at least 10%.
Yet manufacturers see little sign that consumers are abandoning ice cream altogether. Instead, ice cream makers are betting that shoppers will continue to indulge, provided treats come with fewer calories, more protein and simpler ingredient lists.
