State officials release independent tests finding glyphosate in some popular breads

Florida health officials onstage at Palm Beach State College on Saturday announced the latest results from a state-led, independent testing initiative that examined common consumer foods for pesticides and heavy metals.

Unidentified Speaker (Speaker 1), who introduced the event, said the Department of Health tested 24 infant formulas from seven major brands and 46 candy products from 10 companies earlier this year and posted those results online. "Pesticide levels were, thankfully, generally below levels of concern," the speaker said, "but the testing identified elevated levels of certain heavy metals compared to health-based screening benchmarks, including mercury, arsenic, and lead." The department posted results at exposingfoodtoxins.com, officials said.

First Lady Casey and Dr. Joseph Ladipo, Florida’s surgeon general, presented the new bread results. "We applied the same independent, science-based testing standards used in the infant formula and candy reviews," Casey said. She and Dr. Ladipo said certified third-party labs detected "triple-digit glyphosate levels" in several widely consumed brands while other breads had no detectable glyphosate. Casey named Nature's Own, Wonder Bread Classic White and Sara Lee Honey Wheat as brands reported to have detectable glyphosate in the department’s summary, and said Sara Lee artisanal white and Pepperidge Farm Farmhouse white had no detectable levels.

Dr. Ladipo framed the findings as a public-health concern because of chronic exposure. "The evidence overall is just really, really concerning," he said, and described research he said links glyphosate to disruptions in the gut microbiome and effects on the blood–brain barrier. He also said some brands, including Dave's Killer Bread, tested much lower or had no detectable glyphosate.

Speakers emphasized that the initiative is intended to provide consumers with transparency and to spur broader, peer-reviewed action. "We are enlisting other states to join this effort to conduct independent trusted testing to serve as a trust but verify check on our food supply," Casey said, adding that state-collected data can help inform federal agencies.

Officials did not provide new regulatory actions or cite a specific federal recall tied to the bread results during the event. They said they plan to expand testing to additional food categories, and posted detailed sample results at exposingfoodtoxins.com for consumers and researchers to review.

Note on claims: the article reports speakers' characterizations of health risks and research findings as their statements. The independent testing results and numeric measurements referenced here were described by speakers at the event and published on exposingfoodtoxins.com; this article does not independently verify laboratory data or causal health claims.