Study Finds Contaminants in Many Cereals

Clean Label Project's testing of 77 cereal brands found lead, arsenic, acrylamide and glyphosate, with only four brands meeting most quality criteria.

Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Organic Food

Study Finds Contaminants in Many Cereals

Live Poll

Do you trust cereal brands to keep contaminants out of your family's breakfast?

Clean Label Project tested 77 cereal brands, including sugary staples and options marketed as more nutritious, and found harmful contaminants across many products. Only four cereals met most ingredient quality and nutritional criteria.

Why it matters

The findings suggest that cereals perceived as healthier can still carry contaminants, giving shoppers reason to look beyond marketing claims. Plant-based ingredients naturally carry a higher risk of contaminants like heavy metals from soil and pesticides used in farming.

Rice-based cereals contained 12 times the arsenic found in other grains, while cereals made with cocoa, chocolate, or cacao contained more than two times as much lead as those without. Four cereals accounted for 81% of the total glyphosate level detected across the tested products.

The players

Clean Label Project

Clean Label Project is an independent organization that tests consumer products for contaminants and publishes its findings to inform shoppers.

The details

Clean Label Project independently tested 77 cereal brands, comparing sugary staples with seemingly more nutritious options. Methoxyfenozide, acetamiprid, and metalaxyl were also detected, while no bisphenol A or bisphenol S was found in any tested cereal.

Clean Label Project's previous cereal testing in 2018 found BPA and BPS in products.

Health Landscape

The findings extend Clean Label Project's 2018 cereal testing, which detected BPA and BPS, by shifting attention from packaging chemicals to pesticide residues and heavy metals in the grain itself. Together the two rounds of testing show that contaminant concerns in packaged cereal have broadened over time.

Shoppers choosing cereal for children or themselves may want to compare contaminant testing before buying, particularly for cocoa-based and rice-based varieties. Checking ingredient lists for added sugar and processing levels may also help narrow choices, since the study found lower contaminant levels in those products.

The takeaway

Reading beyond front-of-box claims and checking independent testing can help shoppers make more informed cereal choices. The four brands meeting most criteria offer a starting point for comparison.