Packaged snacks make busy school mornings much easier. Many of us regularly pack crackers, granola bars or pretzels in our children’s lunchboxes because they’re convenient and familiar and sometimes the packaging makes them appear like a better choice.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!That’s why a recent Consumer Reports investigation caught my attention. Consumer Reports tested samples of 21 popular snacks commonly eaten by children. According to its report, 14 of the tested products had at least one contaminant above Consumer Reports’ own level of concern.
As a mom and early-childhood educator, I was especially surprised to see Annie’s Organic Cheddar Bunnies and Clif Chocolate Chip Zbars included. I’ve purchased Annie’s many times because the organic label and child-friendly packaging made it feel like one of the better packaged choices.
Before we continue, this article isn’t meant to create fear or parent guilt. The results apply to the specific samples Consumer Reports tested. This wasn’t an FDA recall, and the report doesn’t establish that eating one serving will immediately make a child sick.
Which Kids’ Snacks Were Included?
Consumer Reports tested snacks from several familiar brands and categories, including crackers, chips, pretzels, granola bars, yogurt, fruit snacks, applesauce, seaweed and cheese.
Some of the familiar products included:
- Annie’s Organic Cheddar Bunnies
- Clif Chocolate Chip Zbars
- Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars
- Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Cheddar Crackers
- Lay’s Classic Potato Chips
- Snyder’s Mini Pretzels
- Doritos Nacho Cheese
- Takis Fuego
- Honey Maid Graham Crackers
- MadeGood Organic Chewy Granola Bars
Different products had different findings. Seeing a product included in the investigation doesn’t mean that every snack contained the same substance or amount.
Why Annie’s and Zbar Surprised Me
According to Consumer Reports, the tested samples of Annie’s Organic Cheddar Bunnies, Clif Chocolate Chip Zbars and Slim Jim Mild Snack Sticks were the three products that exceeded its level of concern for DEHP, a type of phthalate associated with plastics.
The tested Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies were also flagged in additional testing categories involving substances that can form during food processing and high-temperature cooking.
This doesn’t mean the companies intentionally added these substances to their recipes. Some contaminants may enter food through packaging or manufacturing equipment, while others can form when ingredients are cooked or processed at high temperatures. They may not appear on the ingredient label.
For parents like me, however, it was still disappointing to see a trusted organic children’s brand among the products flagged in independent testing.
Important Context for Parents
Consumer Reports tested three samples of each product, representing two or three different lots. That provides useful information, but it doesn’t mean that every package, flavor or batch will produce an identical result.
The levels discussed in the investigation were Consumer Reports’ own levels of concern. This wasn’t an FDA recall or a determination that the products violated a specific legal limit.
The food industry also disagreed with Consumer Reports’ interpretation. The Consumer Brands Association said manufacturers follow FDA food-safety requirements and noted that some substances highlighted in the report can occur naturally in food or form during preparation.
There was reassuring news as well. Consumer Reports didn’t find lead or inorganic arsenic above its levels of concern, and mercury wasn’t detected. Seven of the tested products remained below Consumer Reports’ levels of concern in all its tests.
What Am I Changing in Our Lunchbox?
I’m not going to feel guilty about the snacks I purchased before, and I don’t want other parents to feel guilty either. We chose these products because we believed they were convenient and reasonable choices for our children.
For my family, I’ll probably stop relying on Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies as an everyday lunchbox snack. That is my personal purchasing decision—not a rule that every family must follow.
My main goal is to offer more variety instead of packing the exact same processed snack every day. Simple alternatives can include:
- Fresh fruit with yogurt
- Cheese with crackers
- Apple slices with seed or nut butter, if permitted by your child’s school
- Vegetables with hummus
- Homemade mini muffins
- Homemade snack bars
- Applesauce or yogurt pouches
- Air-popped popcorn for children old enough to eat it safely
Parents are busy, and not every lunchbox item needs to be homemade. Even replacing one or two packaged snacks during the week—or simply rotating different options is a realistic beginning.
No Parent Guilt—Just More Awareness
The biggest lesson for me is that words such as “organic” don’t tell us everything about a finished product. Independent testing can reveal information that isn’t visible on the front of a package or its ingredient list.
Parents deserve transparency, but we also deserve realistic advice. A completely perfect lunchbox isn’t the goal. We can use this information to ask questions, offer more variety and make the choices that feel appropriate for our families.
Were you surprised to see Annie’s, Zbar or any of the other familiar snacks included? Would you like me to share more simple and affordable homemade lunchbox alternatives?
Read the Original Report
Consumer Reports:
https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-contaminants/contaminants-in-kids-snacks-a1320989661/
Watch my video about the results here:
This article summarizes publicly reported Consumer Reports testing. Results apply to the samples tested, and findings differed by product. This article reflects my personal opinion and purchasing choices and isn’t medical advice.