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Yes. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) reported glyphosate in specific samples of General Mills Honey Nut Cheerios and Quaker oat products tested in 2018. Those historical, sample-specific results do not show that every box contains glyphosate, that a residue exceeded a legal limit, or that current retail batches are unsafe. EWG later reported lower levels in its 2022 tests, but neither set of tests establishes what is in products on shelves today.
What did EWG find in Cheerios and Quaker products?
EWG reported in 2018 that its commissioned laboratory detected glyphosate in samples of General Mills Honey Nut Cheerios and Quaker Oatmeal Squares. Its reporting described tests on 10 Cheerios samples and 18 Quaker products. EWG compared some measured residues with amounts of certain listed vitamins; that comparison was EWG’s framing, not a federal safety standard. The findings describe the samples tested, not every package or product batch.
A separate set of figures appears in EWG petition material reproduced in a 2026 court filing. In that historical test account, 31 of 45 product samples had glyphosate concentrations of at least 0.160 parts per million (ppm), and two Quaker Old Fashioned Oats samples exceeded 1.0 ppm. These are EWG’s reported test results reproduced in a court filing—not an EPA survey or a 2026 test of products then on sale.
The two 2018 descriptions use different sample counts and reporting contexts. They should not be treated as though the 10 Cheerios samples and 18 Quaker products were the entire 45-sample set, or as proof that any particular current box has the same concentration.
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What did EWG report in its later tests?
In an article published in 2023 about testing conducted in 2022, EWG said glyphosate levels in its oat-product tests had declined from its earlier rounds. EWG said it did not know why. That reported decline does not establish residue levels in all Cheerios or Quaker products.
EWG also reported that three samples—Gerber Baby Cereal, Quaker Old Fashioned Oats and General Mills Cheerios—were tested for 414 pesticides and three additional herbicides. None of those additional chemicals was found above the laboratory’s detection limit in the named samples. Separately, EWG reported no glyphosate detected in nine conventional Gerber oatmeal products. A non-detection means the chemical was not found above the method’s detection limit in those tested samples; it does not prove every product is residue-free.
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| Finding | What was tested and reported | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| EWG’s 2018 reporting | 10 Cheerios samples and 18 Quaker products; EWG reported glyphosate detections in samples of Honey Nut Cheerios and Quaker Oatmeal Squares. Source: EWG, 2018. | That every package contained glyphosate, or that the samples represent current batches. |
| EWG petition figures reproduced in a 2026 court filing | 31 of 45 historical product samples at or above 0.160 ppm; two Quaker Old Fashioned Oats samples above 1.0 ppm. Source: EWG petition account reproduced in the filing. | An EPA finding, a current-product survey, or proof that a legal tolerance was exceeded. |
| EWG’s 2022 tests, reported in 2023 | Three named samples tested for 414 pesticides and three additional herbicides; none of those additional chemicals was above the lab’s detection limit. EWG also reported no glyphosate in nine conventional Gerber oatmeal products. | That all oat products or current retail batches have no detectable residues. |
Does a detected residue mean the food is unsafe?
No. Detection establishes that a laboratory found a chemical in a particular sample using its test method. It does not, by itself, establish the concentration relative to a legal tolerance, how much a person would consume, or the health risk from that exposure.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets pesticide tolerances for food and evaluates risks under expected exposure conditions. EPA states: “The presence of a detectible pesticide residue does not mean the residue is at an unsafe level.” A residue at or below an established tolerance is considered safe for consumers under the agency’s regulatory framework. The EWG figures cited above do not, on their own, establish whether any sample exceeded the applicable EPA tolerance; the cited reporting does not provide that comparison.
Hazard and risk are also different questions. A hazard classification asks whether a substance can cause harm under some conditions; risk assessment considers the likelihood of harm at a particular level and pattern of exposure. EPA says its glyphosate assessment and the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s (IARC) classification differ in scope and methodology. An IARC hazard classification is not itself a measurement of the risk from eating a serving of cereal.
Do the results tell you what is in current boxes?
No. The cited EWG tests concern historical samples. The later results were limited to specified products and samples, and the available evidence does not provide batch-by-batch measurements for Cheerios or Quaker oats currently sold in stores. A past detection cannot establish that today’s box contains the same residue—or any detectable residue. Likewise, a past non-detection cannot guarantee that every current box is residue-free.
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For a reader asking, “Should I throw out my Cheerios?”, these findings alone do not show that discarding a box is medically necessary. They also cannot certify the contents of a particular package. EPA’s glyphosate page, accessed October 4, 2026, said an updated human health risk assessment was expected in 2026; that statement does not establish whether the update has since been published or what its conclusions are.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How should FDA’s role be understood?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says EPA evaluates pesticide safety. FDA describes developing a glyphosate-specific residue-testing method and includes glyphosate testing results in its annual pesticide reports beginning with fiscal year 2017. Those agency activities provide regulatory context, but they are not a current batch-level test result for a particular Cheerios or Quaker package.
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