Fact Checking 2025 Claims That Girl Scout Cookies Are Toxic

Every year, many Americans welcome spring with the sounds of chirping birds, the sprouting of early blooms like tulips, and the presence of a legion of Girl Scouts that set up shop in front of the doors to your favorite grocery store. And while a great deal of us welcome this sight and gladly hand over a few bucks for our favorite sweet treats, one independent lab is advising customers to pump the brakes.

That's because they claim that testing revealed a host of unwanted ingredients in the cookies, prompting many to wonder if their Girl Scout Cookies are actually toxic.

You'll have to keep reading to get the answer, including what the Girls Scouts are saying about the cookies.

If you're anything like me, you have a cabinet full of Girl Scout Cookies in your kitchen right now. That may make the news that an independent lab found ingredients like lead, arsenic, and glyphosates, pretty alarming.

According to Forbes, the details of the lab report went viral after an independent study was posted by two different consumer groups: Moms Across America and GMOScience.

The non peer-reviewed study claimed that out of 25 different cookie samples, sourced from three different states, all tested positive for different heavy metals and glyphosates.

According to a local affiliate station of Fox News, those heavy metals included aluminum, lead, mercury, and arsenic.

The Girl Scouts has responded to these claims, posting a statement on their blog on Feb. 6, 2025. In it, the organization denies the claims that Girl Scout cookies are toxic, and reassured customers that all of its cookies adhere to all standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Further, they explained that any foods made with plants grown in soil are likely to test positive for trace amounts of heavy metals.

"This means that nearly all foods using plant-based ingredients, including organic foods, may contain trace amounts," the statement read. "This does not mean that these foods are harmful to consume."

As for the glyphosate, the organization says that the amounts used in the cookies comply with EPA standards.

As of the time of publication, there was no recall listed for Girl Scout Cookies.

Snopes even fact checked the claims, writing that all of the "toxic" ingredients that the is said to have found in the cookies fell well within FDA standards. The website went on to criticize the way that the results of the lab testing was presented, writing that the companies disclosed the findings in a way that was misleading to the public.

In short, there's no reason to be alarmed about claims that the batches of Girl Scout Cookies being sold in 2025 are toxic, or that they could cause your family any harm.

Instead, it seems that these cookies are perfectly safe to eat in moderation, just as they have always been.