• A customer is suing the Girl Scouts of the United States of America over claims that the organization’s Thin Mints and other cookies contain “heavy metals” and pesticides. New Yorker Amy Mayo filed the lawsuit on Monday in federal court against the nonprofit and the cookies’ producers, ABC Bakers and Ferrero USA Little Brownie Bakers.
• The lawsuit cites a study that said more than a dozen of the cookies contained at least 4 of 5 heavy metals including aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury and high levels of a herbicide typically used to kill weeds known as glyphosate.
• The study is not published in a scientific journal or peer-reviewed.

Full Story

A customer is suing the Girl Scouts of the United States of America. The customer claims the organization’s Thin Mints and other cookies contain “heavy metals” and pesticides.

The lawsuit was filed on Monday, March 10, by New York resident Amy Mayo in federal court against the nonprofit and the cookies’ producers, ABC Bakers and Ferrero USA’s Little Brownie Bakers.

What does the lawsuit stem from?

The lawsuit cites a study published in February by groups Moms Across America and GMO Science. The study states more than a dozen of the cookies contained at least 4 of 5 heavy metals, including aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury.

The study also showed the cookies contained high levels of a herbicide typically used to kill weeds.

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Why is the study gaining momentum?

The study’s author never published the research in a scientific journal. Scientists have also not peer-reviewed the study.

Scientists also said the study used a small sample size, which Forbes reports, “doesn’t necessarily reflect contamination levels nationwide.”

Podcaster Joe Rogan later promoted the study’s results, causing them to go viral on social media.

What does the lawsuit claim?

The lawsuit accuses the Girl Scouts of falsifying claims about the safety and quality of its cookies, saying Mayo and other potential plaintiffs would not have purchased the cookies had they known about the findings beforehand.

The suit claims the companies broke consumer protection laws and benefitted from the sale of “contaminated” cookies.

How much money is the lawsuit seeking?

The suit is seeking $5 million in damages for consumers. It is also asking for an injunction that mandates the cookie sellers update packaging to reflect the presence of the metals and pesticides.

How are the defendants responding?

The Girl Scouts organization has not yet responded to the lawsuit. The organization previously said, “The health and safety of Girls Scouts and cookie customers is our top priority” when the study was originally released.

The organization also noted, the cookies follow all safety standards set by U.S. federal agencies and said trace amounts of the substances in question occur naturally in many foods but pose no health risk.

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Are there similar lawsuits?

As Straight News previously reported, some chocolate makers, including Lindt, also faced lawsuits after researchers found elevated levels of metals in certain dark chocolate bars.