Oats are everywhere — in porridge, muesli, snack bars, oat milks, and more.
They’re marketed as one of the healthiest, most family-friendly staples you can buy. But are they as clean and wholesome as we’re led to believe?
That’s the question we’re asking next.
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What We’ve Found So Far
Since May, No More Glyphosate NZ has been testing New Zealand foods that end up on most families’ tables. Our independent, accredited lab results have shown a mixed picture:
- Honey: multiple rounds of testing revealed glyphosate in retail jars, even exceeding the legal limit in one recent batch.
- Weet-Bix & cereals: measurable glyphosate residues were found in several popular breakfast options.
- Bread: three supermarket loaves tested clean, while two contained measurable glyphosate — showing how unpredictable residues can be from one product to the next.
All of this reinforces why testing matters: without it, the public simply wouldn’t know.
We’ve included links to all our previous test results at the bottom of this page if you’d like to explore them in more detail.
Why Oats Matter
Oats are both grown in New Zealand and imported, so what ends up in the bag can vary. Internationally, oats are one of the crops most often treated with glyphosate before harvest (a practice called desiccation). That means residues can show up even when products are marketed as natural or healthy.
And because oats are eaten daily by kids, families, and those seeking out “clean” foods, any glyphosate contamination would raise serious questions.
Our Testing Plan
For this round, we’re keeping it simple. With limited funding we expect to test just three oat products — likely a mix of rolled oats, quick oats, and one other common option.
If funding allows, we’ll expand the scope to include additional oat-based products.
Testing will be conducted at a trace reporting level of 0.01 mg/kg (10 ppb) — the same benchmark used in our recent bread tests, and one commonly applied in international studies and European regulations. This ensures our results can be meaningfully compared overseas, while revealing residues that New Zealand’s higher monitoring limits would miss.
Why Independent Testing Matters
Government testing only scratches the surface, often using higher detection thresholds and limited sample sizes. By contrast, every test we commission is done by a fully accredited and certified laboratory, ensuring the results are both credible and transparent.
Without this kind of independent, community-funded work, New Zealanders would remain in the dark about what’s really in their food.
How You Can Help
Each oat sample costs $405 to analyse. As a small volunteer group with shallow pockets, we can only continue if the community is behind us.
Most of our testing so far has been funded by New Zealanders who chipped in what they could — many gave $10 or $20, others $100 or $200, and one even contributed $500. Every amount, large or small, has made these independent results possible.
But don’t leave it to others. If everyone sits back and assumes someone else will step up, nothing happens. The truth is uncovered when ordinary people choose to act.
Click here to donate using a Credit/Debit card or internationally
Or if you prefer, directly into our bank account:
No More Glyphosate NZ
03-0275-0056783-002*
If your bank only allows two-digit suffixes, please enter 02.
If you make a donation directly into our bank account, we won’t automatically receive your details. Please send us a quick email to let us know—just so we know it was you – and that this donation is for this round of Oat testing!
Closing Note
Oats are a staple in almost every pantry, marketed as healthy and wholesome. But just because they’re trusted doesn’t mean they’re free from glyphosate. With your support, we can find out what’s really in New Zealand’s oats — and keep building the bigger picture of glyphosate in our food supply.
Related No More Glyphosate NZ Tests
Curious about what we’ve uncovered so far? Here are links to our previous independent food tests — each one adding another piece to the bigger picture.
Glyphosate in Honey — First Test Results
Our very first round of honey testing revealed glyphosate residues in popular retail jars, proving contamination had made its way into a product marketed as natural and pure.
Glyphosate in Honey — Test Results: Batch 2
A follow-up round confirmed the trend, with several well-known brands again showing detectable residues — highlighting the persistence of glyphosate in New Zealand’s food chain.
Glyphosate in Honey — Test Results: Batch 3
Our latest round of honey testing is underway, with results due shortly. This will provide an updated snapshot of glyphosate contamination in one of New Zealand’s most valued exports.
Glyphosate in Honey — Test Results: Batch 4
The fourth round of honey testing is underway, with results due on Monday, 22 September. This latest round will provide a fresh snapshot of glyphosate contamination in retail honey and help track whether levels are consistent across batches over time.
Weet-Bix Glyphosate Test Results
Testing of Sanitarium Weet-Bix found glyphosate residues, raising questions about one of New Zealand’s most iconic breakfast foods and its place in children’s daily diets.
Glyphosate in Breakfast Cereals
Independent testing of a range of cereals showed residues across multiple brands, confirming that glyphosate exposure is not limited to a single product.
Supermarket Bread Glyphosate Test Results — Round One
Our first round of supermarket bread testing (August 2025) found no detectable glyphosate residues at the higher 0.05 mg/kg reporting limit, but raised the question of whether more sensitive testing would reveal traces missed the first time.
Supermarket Bread Glyphosate Test Results — Round Two
Our second round of bread testing (September 2025) went deeper, using a lower reporting limit of 0.01 mg/kg. This time, three loaves tested clean, while two (Burgen Soy & Linseed and Vogels Mixed Grain) contained measurable glyphosate residues — proving that more sensitive testing can reveal what higher thresholds miss.
Image Source & Attribution
We’re grateful to the talented photographers and designers whose work enhances our content. The feature image on this page is by ratmaner.
