Every single urine sample tested came back positive. Not one participant was spared. That finding alone might seem like a red flag worth paying attention to – except the 33 pregnant women in the study weren’t living near an industrial site or eating contaminated food from a recalled batch. Their exposure traced back to something far more ordinary: corn chips, popcorn, and everyday grain-based snack foods sitting in kitchen pantries across New Jersey.
The study, published in July 2026 in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology by researchers at Rutgers University, set out to examine how dietary choices during pregnancy relate to levels of mycoestrogens – a specific class of hormone-disrupting toxins in snack foods made from corn and grains, and measurable contamination inside every participant’s body. The research is being described as one of the first in the United States to directly pair pregnant women’s food intake data with mycoestrogen biomarkers collected from urine samples across multiple points in pregnancy.
The mold compounds at the center of this research belong to a broader family of chemicals called mycotoxins. These are toxic substances that certain molds and fungi produce naturally as they grow on crops. They’re not the kind of contamination you can smell, taste, or see – and as the Rutgers findings make clear, they don’t disappear when food gets cooked, processed, or packaged into a snack.
What Mycotoxins Are and Why They’re in Your Snack Foods
Mycotoxins are naturally occurring toxic compounds produced by certain types of molds, and those molds grow on numerous foodstuffs including cereals, dried fruits, nuts, and spices. Most mycotoxins are chemically stable and survive food processing. The effects of food-borne mycotoxins can be acute, with symptoms appearing quickly after consuming highly contaminated food. Long-term effects of chronic mycotoxin exposure include the induction of cancers and immune deficiency. That last point is what makes the Rutgers study significant: it’s not just about heavily contaminated food supplies in the developing world. It’s about the snacks Americans eat routinely.
According to the FDA, grains, dried beans, dried fruits, and coffee are among the foods most susceptible to fungus or mold that produce mycotoxins. The mycotoxins the FDA currently focuses on in human food include aflatoxins, deoxynivalenol, fumonisins, patulin, ochratoxin A, T-2 and HT-2 toxins, and zearalenone.
The Rutgers team zeroed in on zearalenone – a compound that has an unusual and concerning property beyond basic toxicity. Zearalenone is produced by Fusarium fungi that contaminate staple crops such as corn, wheat, and oats. Because zearalenone can mimic estrogen, a hormone critical to pregnancy and fetal development, it is more specifically classified as a mycoestrogen. That estrogen-mimicking ability is what gives it particular relevance during pregnancy, when hormonal signaling governs fetal growth and development at every stage.
Zearalenone is heat-stable, so it can survive cooking and food processing. That means boiling, baking, frying, or popping corn doesn’t neutralize it. A bag of popcorn or a bowl of corn tortilla chips retains whatever zearalenone contaminated the original grain.
What the Rutgers Study Found
The Jersey Babies pilot study found hormone-mimicking toxins in snack foods – specifically, mycotoxins – in 100% of participants and linked exposure levels to the amount of corn and grain products consumed. The 33 participants were recruited from obstetric clinics and followed across multiple visits throughout pregnancy, with urine samples collected each time.
Zearalenone itself was detected in most participant samples at all three visits. Its levels remained relatively stable across pregnancy for several participants, suggesting that exposure was persistent rather than a one-time event. That persistence matters. A single exposure to a mold toxin may be metabolized and cleared. Regular dietary exposure – the kind that comes from eating grain-based snacks several times a week – means the body is dealing with a near-constant low-level presence of the compound throughout the entire gestational period.
Other studies suggest that exposure to mycoestrogens may contribute to greater gestational weight gain and lower infant birthweight. Those outcomes carry real clinical weight. Lower birthweight is linked to a range of health risks for the newborn, including respiratory complications, metabolic issues in later life, and increased susceptibility to infection.
Zorimar Rivera-Núñez, an assistant professor at Rutgers School of Public Health and the lead author, noted that “mycoestrogens are among the most common food contaminants worldwide, yet evidence on their dietary sources in the United States has been limited.”
The study also found a disparity within its sample. Participants who identified as Hispanic had mycoestrogen levels that were higher than non-Hispanic participants – a finding consistent with research showing higher consumption of corn-based foods in some Hispanic communities, including corn tortillas and corn chips.
The Broader Mycotoxin Problem
Zearalenone is not the only mycotoxin raising concern in the food supply. Aflatoxin B1, the most toxic and prevalent aflatoxin, is classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), meaning there is sufficient evidence it causes cancer in humans. Chronic exposure to even low levels is a major risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma, one of the most common and deadly cancers worldwide.
Research has examined whether chronic or intermittent, low-dose aflatoxin B1 consumption might occur in low-exposure geographical areas, ultimately accumulating in the liver and possibly contributing to liver cancer. This matters for a U.S. audience: the assumption that aflatoxin risk is limited to regions with poor food storage infrastructure isn’t fully supported by the evidence.
According to the FDA, regularly eating foods with aflatoxins can increase the risk of liver cancer, cause birth defects, and lead to kidney and immune system problems. Eating food containing a large amount of aflatoxins at one time or for several days can lead to liver failure and even death.
The foods most susceptible to aflatoxins include peanuts, corn, tree nuts such as Brazil nuts and pistachios, and some small grains such as rice. Those ingredients are common in popular packaged snacks: peanut butter crackers, mixed nut packs, rice cakes, and corn-based chips.
Ultra-processed foods that may contain zearalenone are derived from grains and grain-based products, such as pasta, breakfast cereals, baked goods, and breads – according to Rivera-Núñez’s team at Rutgers. The contamination potential extends well beyond the snack aisle.
For those concerned about how other hidden compounds in processed food affect health more broadly, a 2025 Lancet analysis covering nearly 10 million people confirmed that ultra-processed foods are damaging nearly every major organ in the human body.
The Regulatory Gap
According to the Rutgers researchers, the FDA added zearalenone to its Mycotoxin Compliance Program in 2024 but hasn’t yet established maximum allowable limits in food. That means there is no legal threshold in the United States that a food manufacturer must stay below when it comes to zearalenone contamination. A food can contain the compound and still be considered compliant.
On a global scale, the European Commission has set limits for zearalenone in cereals, baked goods, and infant food. The EU’s approach to zearalenone reflects a precautionary standard that the U.S. has not yet matched, at least not for this particular mycotoxin.
The absence of enforceable limits doesn’t mean the FDA is ignoring the problem. The FDA has a monitoring program to help ensure that the foods available for you to buy are not contaminated with mycotoxins. But monitoring without enforceable standards leaves consumers with limited legal protection against low-level, chronic exposure – exactly the kind the Rutgers study documented.
The researchers said the findings establish mycoestrogens as an emerging and understudied exposure among U.S. pregnant women, setting a foundation for future research into reproductive, developmental, and child health outcomes. That framing is significant. This is a pilot study of 33 participants – large enough to generate a clear signal, but not large enough to establish definitive causal claims. The findings call for a larger follow-up study, not a wholesale dietary overhaul based on one small cohort.
Read More: Scientists Confirm Ultra-Processed Foods Are Damaging Every Major Organ in Your Body
What to Do Now
The Rutgers findings don’t mean corn chips or popcorn need to be eliminated from a healthy diet. What they do mean is that the grain-based snack foods eaten most frequently – and in the largest quantities – deserve closer attention, particularly for pregnant women and young children, who face the greatest hormonal and developmental sensitivity to estrogen-mimicking compounds.
Children, pregnant individuals, and people who are immunocompromised are at an increased risk of severe health effects following exposure to mycotoxins. Practically, this points to a few concrete choices worth making. Rotating snack foods so that corn-based products don’t dominate daily eating reduces cumulative exposure. Choosing snacks made from diverse grains – not just corn or wheat – spreads any contamination risk across different crop types with different mold profiles. Buying from producers who test for mycotoxins and publish results, or looking for products certified under stringent quality programs, adds another layer of protection, though it’s not foolproof.
Rivera-Núñez put it plainly: “By understanding how everyday dietary choices contribute to environmental chemical exposures, we can provide families with information that supports both maternal and child health.” The message isn’t panic – it’s awareness. Mycotoxins have been in the food supply for as long as mold has grown on crops. What’s new is the clearer picture of how the specific snack foods we reach for most often are the primary vehicle delivering those compounds into our bodies, and that even routine, moderate consumption is enough to produce measurable exposure in every person tested.
Disclaimer: This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and is for information only. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions about your medical condition and/or current medication. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking advice or treatment because of something you have read here.
AI Disclaimer: This article was created with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed by a human editor.