Consumer Report Study Finds Lunchables Not Safe For Consumption; Here’s What You Need to Know

I have a very sad nine-year-old today. My son, Rollins, loves to have a Lunchable for an after-school snack here and there.  I used to love them as a kid too, there's just something about that weird cold pizza. Anyway, the other day when I went to the grocery, I picked up a few. The nacho set, a turkey and cheese cracker set, and a cheese pizza set.

Today, we threw them all in the garbage. Consumer Report just released information regarding an investigation into Lunchables and other similar snack sets in regards to levels of Lead, Cadmium, and Sodium. Just months ago, similar situations happened with ground cinnamon and applesauce pouches.

Consumer Report Found Lead and Other Metals in Lunchables

Brian Ronholm is the director of food policy at Consumer Report, a non-profit advocacy group. In an effort to try to make school lunches healthier, they are urging school districts that serve Lunchables to either make adjustments or stop offering them altogether. Ronholm said on NPR, "Consumer Reports said it found high levels of sodium in Lunchables, detected lead and cadmium in tests and also observed the presence of phthalates, which can impact reproductive health and the human hormonal system."

What Products Were Tested For Lead?

This leads parents like myself to wonder whether we should strongly consider removing them from our shopping lists as well. In the report itself Lunchable brand was most notable but other brands like Oscar Mayer and Armour Meats. Here is the list of products that were tested.

• Lunchables (3.2-oz turkey and cheddar cracker stackers).
• Lunchables (4.3-ouce pizza with pepperoni).
• Lunchables (4.2-ounce extra cheesy pizza).
• Armour LunchMakers (2.4-ounce cracker crunchers ham and American).
• Armour LunchMakers (2.4-ounce cracker crunchers turkey and American).
• Good & Gather (3-ounce uncured ham and cheddar cheese).
• Good & Gather (2.8-ounce smoked turkey and cheddar cheese).
• Greenfield Natural Meat Co. (2.9-ounce smoked turkey and cheese).
• Oscar Mayer (3.3-ounce natural honey smoked turkey breast).
• Oscar Mayer (3.3-ounce natural hickory smoked uncured ham).
• P3 (2.3-ounce turkey ham cheddar).
• P3 (2-ounce turkey colby jack almonds).

To find out more about the study, including details on the results of each test performed, you can see Consumer Report's findings here. 

Sources: NPR, Cincinnati Inquirer

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