Overview

• The lawsuit, filed in New York federal court, claims Girl Scout cookies contain heavy metals like lead, cadmium, and mercury, as well as the pesticide glyphosate.
• Independent testing cited in the lawsuit alleges 100% of cookie samples tested in 2024 contained at least four of five heavy metals, with some products exceeding acceptable limits.
• The plaintiff, Amy Mayo, is seeking $5 million in damages and an injunction requiring disclosure of the alleged substances on packaging.
• The Girl Scouts of the USA maintain that their cookies are safe, adhering to FDA and regulatory food safety standards, and have refuted the claims.
• Experts and fact-checkers have noted that the study cited in the lawsuit was not peer-reviewed, had a small sample size, and used inappropriate safety benchmarks for food.