A new Clean Label Project report has put breakfast cereals under the microscope after researchers tested 77 products for contaminants including arsenic, lead, glyphosate, pesticides, acrylamide and bisphenols. The results were mixed. Rice-based cereals contained about 12 times more arsenic per serving than other cereals, while all but one tested product contained detectable acrylamide.

There was also some encouraging news. Researchers found no detectable BPA or BPS in any of the 77 cereals, suggesting progress compared with earlier testing. Chocolate and cocoa-containing cereals, however, tended to contain more lead, with detectable lead found in 12 of the 13 chocolate-containing products tested. The study also detected pesticides including chlormequat, methoxyfenozide, acetamiprid and metalaxyl.

Four cereals were highlighted on the project’s 2026 Honor Roll: Arrowhead Mills Puffed Kamut, Lovebird Cinnamon O’s, Love Grown Power Os Original and Three Wishes Cinnamon. The organization evaluated products not only for contaminants, but also for factors such as sugar, protein, fiber and ingredient quality.

Still, the findings should be viewed in context. Detecting a contaminant does not automatically mean a food is unsafe, and the report does not provide detailed contaminant levels for every cereal in its public summary. Clean Label Project itself notes that contaminant testing is only one part of evaluating a cereal’s overall nutritional quality. For consumers, the takeaway is not necessarily to avoid cereal altogether, but to choose balanced options and avoid unnecessary alarm over the presence of trace contaminants.