A federal lawsuit has been filed against the Georgia-founded Girl Scouts of the USA. The AJC reports the suit, filed by New York residents, claims that the cookies sold by Girl Scouts contain aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury as well as pesticides including glyphosate. The plaintiffs, Danielle Barbaro and Judy Cholewa, seek compensation for everyone in the country who bought Girl Scouts cookies within any applicable period under the law.
In response, the Girl Scouts says its cookies are made with ingredients that adhere to food safety standards set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and that heavy metals and other environmental contaminants can occur naturally in soil and therefore trace amounts can be found in nearly all foods containing plant-based ingredients.
Nearly $1 billion worth of Girl Scouts cookies in 200 million boxes are sold annually across the country.
