Quaker REAL CHOCOLATE CHIP GRANOLA BARS

One serving carries about 5.1 times California's Prop 65 no-significant-risk level for acrylamide (0.2 mcg per day), the threshold Consumer Reports applied at a serving a day. Acrylamide forms whenever starchy food is fried, baked or roasted. At 42 ppb it was far below Nature Valley's Oats 'n Honey bars (240 ppb), the highest of the four snack bars CR tested.

Consumer Reports' August 2026 kids' snacks test (acrylamide by LC-MS/MS, J. Agric. Food Chem. 54:7001 (2006)) on three Quaker Chewy Chocolate Chip samples from two to three lots: 42 ppb, which is 1.02 mcg in the 24 g (1 bar) serving. CR's reference values: OEHHA NSRL 0.2 mcg/day, MADL 140 mcg/day, EPA reference dose 2 mcg/kg body weight/day.

Glycidyl esters form when vegetable oils are refined at high heat and turn into glycidol in the gut — a probable human carcinogen with no safe intake set by EFSA. One serving is about 46% of California's no-significant-risk level for glycidol (0.54 mcg per day), the reference CR applied. At 10 ppb it tied for the lowest detected glycidyl ester level in the test.

Consumer Reports' August 2026 kids' snacks test (glycidyl esters by GC-MS/MS, AOAC 2018.03) on three Quaker Chewy Chocolate Chip samples from two to three lots: 10 ppb, which is 0.25 mcg per 24 g serving. CR's reference value: OEHHA NSRL for glycidol 0.54 mcg/day. The EU caps GE in retail vegetable oils at 1,000 µg/kg as glycidol; the U.S. has no limit.

Not detected — below the laboratory's method detection limit in every sample. 3-MCPD is a by-product of refining vegetable oil at high heat.

Consumer Reports' August 2026 kids' snacks test (3-MCPD by GC-MS/MS, AOAC 2018.03) on three Quaker Chewy Chocolate Chip samples from two to three lots: not detected in any sample.

Detected — one serving is about 16% of California's Prop 65 maximum allowable dose for lead (0.5 mcg per day). No level of lead is considered beneficial, and children are the most sensitive group.

Consumer Reports' August 2026 kids' snacks test (lead by ICP-QQQ-MS, AOAC 2015.01) on three Quaker Chewy Chocolate Chip samples from two to three lots: 3.38 ppb, which is 0.08 mcg per 24 g serving, against the OEHHA MADL of 0.5 mcg/day.

One serving is about 17% of California's Prop 65 maximum allowable dose for cadmium (4.1 mcg per day).

Consumer Reports' August 2026 kids' snacks test (cadmium by ICP-QQQ-MS, AOAC 2015.01) on three Quaker Chewy Chocolate Chip samples from two to three lots: 28.6 ppb, which is 0.69 mcg per 24 g serving, against the OEHHA MADL of 4.1 mcg/day.

Total arsenic was high enough that CR ran its inorganic-arsenic follow-up, the form that matters for health. One serving is about 7% of California's no-significant-risk level for inorganic arsenic (10 mcg per day). This was the highest total arsenic of the four snack bars CR tested. Oats take arsenic up from soil and water.

Consumer Reports' August 2026 kids' snacks test (total arsenic by ICP-QQQ-MS, AOAC 2015.01; inorganic arsenic by speciation) on three Quaker Chewy Chocolate Chip samples from two to three lots: 47.2 ppb total and 29.8 ppb inorganic, which is 0.72 mcg of inorganic arsenic per 24 g serving.

Not detected — below the laboratory's method detection limit in every sample.

Consumer Reports' August 2026 kids' snacks test (mercury by ICP-QQQ-MS, AOAC 2015.01) on three Quaker Chewy Chocolate Chip samples from two to three lots: not detected in any sample.

DEHP is a plasticiser that migrates from processing equipment and packaging. One serving is about 0.1% of California's Prop 65 maximum allowable dose for DEHP (410 mcg per day) and well under EPA's reference dose. Total phthalates were the same, so DEHP was the only one found.

Consumer Reports' August 2026 kids' snacks test (phthalates by GC-MS/MS, GB 5009.271-2016 mod.) on three Quaker Chewy Chocolate Chip samples from two to three lots: DEHP 18 ppb, which is 424 ng per 24 g serving; total phthalates 424 ng. References: OEHHA MADL 410 mcg/day, NSRL 310 mcg/day, EPA reference dose 20 mcg/kg body weight/day.