Perhaps your kid’s (or your own) favorite influencer persuaded you to toss creator-made Lunchly into your weekly shopping cart. 

With its bright, playful packaging and promise to “have fun for lunch,” it’s an easy sell — especially for busy parents looking for convenience. But on Thursday, Consumer Reports released a new investigation into Lunchly, the prepackaged lunch kit marketing itself as a healthier alternative to Lunchables. And the findings might give you pause.

Consumer Reports carried out a thorough investigation of Lunchly lunch kits, similar to its previous tests on Lunchables and other ready-to-eat lunch options. The team tested Lunchly products for contaminants, including heavy metals like arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury, James E. Rogers, Ph.D., tells Food & Wine.

“We looked at phthalates, which are plasticizers used either in the packaging itself or that can contaminate food during manufacturing; they’re endocrine disruptors,” he adds. 

Rogers, who oversees product and food safety research at Consumer Reports, explains that the team also conducted a nutritional analysis to verify whether the actual sodium content matched what’s listed on the packaging. “We also looked at fiber, total sugars, carbohydrates, and protein amounts.”

Read the rest of the article at FoodandWine.com -These ‘Healthier’ Lunch Kits Contain Lead and Phthalates, Consumer Reports Finds. To view more of my writing – visit my portfolio.