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Topline
Popular protein powders and shakes contain increasingly more heavy metal contamination, according to tests conducted by Consumer Reports, which found high levels of lead in some popular brands behind the rapidly growing protein market.
Consumer Reports published its report on protein products Tuesday. (Photo by Nicolas Armer/picture alliance via Getty Images)
dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images
Key Facts
Consumer Reports tested 23 popular protein powders and ready-to-drink shakes, finding more than two-thirds of the products had more lead in a single serving than Consumer Reports’ experts have said is safe to consume in one day.
Some of the products contained 10 times more lead than is safe to consume in a day, according to the report.
Nearly all the plant-based products tested contained elevated levels of lead, with two having so much lead that Consumer Reports cautions against using them at all.
Plant-based protein products had, on average, nine times the amount of lead found in dairy proteins such as whey and double the amount as beef-based protein products.
Dairy-based protein products generally had the lowest lead amounts, “but half of the products we tested still had high enough levels of contamination that CR’s experts advise against daily use,” Consumer Reports noted.
Tunde Akinleye, the Consumer Reports food safety researcher who led the testing project, said the average lead level is higher than it was 15 years ago and that fewer products had undetectable amounts of lead.
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What Products Had The Highest High Levels Of Lead?
Measured by micrograms, the protein products with the largest concentrations of lead included Naked Nutrition Vegan Mass Gainer (7.7 mcgs), Huel Black Edition, Chocolate (6.31 mcgs), Garden of Life Sport Organic Plant-Based Protein, Vanilla (2.76 mcgs) and Momentous 100% Plant Protein, Chocolate Flavor (2.33 mcgs), according to Consumer Reports. Further data on heavy metals in protein supplements, some of which contained cadmium and inorganic arsenic, can be found here.
Big Number
About 70%. That is the share of products tested that contained over 120% of Consumer Reports’ level of concern for lead, which is 0.5 micrograms per day.
Crucial Quote
“There’s no reason to panic if you’ve been using any of the products we tested, or if you take protein supplements generally,” Consumer Reports said. “Many of these powders are fine to have occasionally, and even those with the highest lead levels are far below the concentration needed to cause immediate harm.” However, Akinyele said for many consumers, “there’s more to lose than you’re gaining,” advising regular protein supplement users to consider reducing their intake.
Key Background
Protein, which is crucial for building tissue and muscle, has become an increasingly highlighted and added component in many products, being incorporated into breakfast foods, snacks and sodas. The U.S. protein market has boomed in the last decade, with the number of products claiming to be high in protein quadrupling between 2013 and 2024, according to an estimate cited by The New York Times, which noted the size of the whey protein market alone is estimated at about $5 billion to $10 billion. The presence of lead and other metals in protein products is not unprecedented. The Clean Label Project, a nonprofit advocating for transparent food labeling, found in a January report that plant-based powders contained three times more lead than whey-based products. It also found chocolate-flavored protein powders had four times more lead and up to 110 times more cadmium, a carcinogen, than vanilla-flavored powders.
Further Reading
2024-25 Protein Powder Category Report (Clean Label Project)
Protein Powders and Shakes Contain High Levels of Lead (Consumer Reports)
