Restaurant chains

What's been found, and who's been sued

By Rashad Bayram · Published 29 Oct 2026 · Last updated 29 Oct 2026

Lab tests and lawsuits for the big chains, kept apart so you can see what was measured, what was alleged and what a court decided. Tests by advocacy groups are labelled as such, with the legal limits beside them for scale.

• Starbucks

  1 lab finding4 cases · 3 open

  Active class action over solvents found in decaf, plus Canadian copycat suits, a 2019 pesticide case and a 2026 sugar-labelling suit.

  • Solvents
  • Labelling
  • Pesticide

• Burger King

  2 lab findings2 cases

  PFAS packaging suits in 2022, one voluntarily dropped. Glyphosate test value not published.

  • Glyphosate
  • PFAS

• McDonald's

  2 lab findings2 cases

  Low glyphosate in the 2023 advocacy test; PFAS found in some 2022 packaging; two PFAS suits and E. coli litigation.

  • Glyphosate
  • PFAS
  • Pathogen

• Chipotle

  2 lab findings1 case

  Lowest glyphosate in the 2023 test but the most pesticides; paid a record $25M criminal fine over outbreaks.

  • Glyphosate
  • Other pesticides
  • Pathogen

• Wendy's

  1 lab finding1 case

  2022 E. coli outbreak linked to sandwich lettuce in four states, with lawsuits.

  • Glyphosate
  • Pathogen

• Taco Bell

  0 lab findings1 case · 1 open

  2026 Cyclospora outbreak traced to shredded lettuce: 1,644 cases. Several suits filed.

  • Pathogen

• In-N-Out

  2 lab findings0 cases

  Three pesticides found; cadmium flagged in fries.

  • Other pesticides
  • Heavy metals

• Panda Express

  2 lab findings0 cases

  Low glyphosate; arsenic flagged in a meal in the 2023 heavy-metal test.

  • Glyphosate
  • Heavy metals

• Arby's

  1 lab finding0 cases

  Second-highest glyphosate in the 2023 test; no other pesticides detected.

  • Glyphosate

• Chick-fil-A

  1 lab finding0 cases

  Sandwich wrapper had one of the highest PFAS readings in Consumer Reports' 2022 test.

  • PFAS

• Dairy Queen

  1 lab finding0 cases

  Fourth-highest glyphosate in the 2023 test.

  • Glyphosate

• Domino's

  1 lab finding0 cases

  Pesticide residues on wheat-crust pizza in the 2023 test.

  • Other pesticides

• Dunkin'

  1 lab finding0 cases

  Described as having some of the highest glyphosate, but no number was published.

  • Glyphosate

• Jack in the Box

  1 lab finding0 cases

  Cadmium flagged in fries in the 2023 heavy-metal test.

  • Heavy metals

• Little Caesars

  1 lab finding0 cases

  Third-highest glyphosate in the 2023 test.

  • Glyphosate

• Panera Bread

  1 lab finding0 cases

  Highest glyphosate of any chain in the 2023 advocacy test.

  • Glyphosate

• Pizza Hut

  1 lab finding0 cases

  Eight pesticides on a vegetable pizza in the 2023 test.

  • Other pesticides

• Popeyes

  1 lab finding0 cases

  Included in the 2023 advocacy test, but no chain-level number was published. No contaminant lawsuits found.

  • Glyphosate

• Sonic

  1 lab finding0 cases

  Lead flagged in a cheeseburger in the 2023 heavy-metal test.

  • Heavy metals