Toxins found in popular cereal brand and fast food chains across America

LITTLE ROCK, ARK. (KATV) — The non-profit organization Moms Across America initiated an extensive food testing program that tests for a variety of toxins in cereal brands, school lunches, and even fast-food chains.

“Well the problem right now with current US policy is that they are not regulating heavy metal exposure in our food supply sufficiently," said Zen Honeycutt, founding executive director for Moms Across America.

Moms Across America tested their first cereal, General Mills' Trix Loaded, to find what they're calling alarming levels of neurotoxins and carcinogens.

Test results show high levels of heavy metals such as Cadmium and Aluminum. Cadmium is able to cause damage to the kidneys, while aluminum is associated with not only brain damage but also developmental delays.

“Well both heavy metals and pesticides have been found to be carcinogenic, and to be linked to neurological and developmental disorders that can be lifelong and permanent," said Honeycutt. "So we are extremely concerned about the connection to, you know, autism, behavioral disorders, learning disorders, mental health issues. One out of five people in America now have mental health issues.”

According to Honeycutt, consumers can buy whole and organic foods as much as possible to avoid these toxic-laden foods.

“Moms Across America tested 43 school lunch samples and we also tested the top 20 fast food restaurants this year and found, in fact, for them to contain more toxins than nutrients, so we highly encourage parents to buy organic as much as possible," said Honeycutt.

Additionally, Moms Across America is testing 43 school lunch samples and the top twenty fast food chains across the country.

“Well we found 100% of the fast-food places positive for heavy metals, 100% positive for Glyphosate, the highest levels of Glyphosate were actually Panera Bread which is very concerning because they do claim to have clean, wholesome food," said Honeycutt. "We found a aviary contraceptive in Chick Fil A sandwiches that actually prevents the laying of eggs so we are really concerned about females eating the sandwiches."

According to Moms Across America, 42 samples were tested for arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury in fast food restaurants, with 100% of the samples purchased at 21 different locations nationwide, containing alarming levels of cadmium and lead.

Moms Across America is urging consumers to contact their local representatives and push for legislation to keep these toxins out of our food. The founding executive said that children are particularly impacted by the presence of heavy metals and chemicals.

Last year California passed Bill AB418, which prevents red food dyes in the food supply.

KATV reached out to General Mills' to get a statement on these test results from Moms Across America and have yet to hear back.