New Study Doubles Down on ‘Troubling’ Presence of Lead in Popular Protein Powders — It’s Gotten ‘Even Worse’

Protein powders and shakes! What’s next? Recall after recall makes me question what is safe to eat. The study is from Consumer Reports which is a highly respected organization.

Earlier this year, a January report also found that protein powders used to build muscle mass can contain harmful heavy metals like cadmium and lead

A new report continues to highlight the “troubling” presence of lead in some protein powders and shakes as the products’ popularity remains high.

Earlier this year, a Clean Label Project report found that well over half of the plant-based protein powders, organic protein powders and chocolate-flavored protein powders tested were over the California Proposition 65 safety thresholds for toxic metals. Now, a study from Consumer Reports reaffirms the high presence of lead in many protein powders, calling the results “troubling.”

Like the Clean Label Project report, Consumer Reports also found that plant-based products were the worst offenders for elevated lead levels.

For testing, Consumer Reports anonymously bought multiple samples of the products over a three-month period starting in November 2024. The purchases were made from online retailers like Amazon, as well as at supermarkets like Whole Foods in New York state. The organization notes that because “the results are based on an average of these samples, which were collected over a specific period of time, they may not mirror current contaminant levels in every product.”

About 70 percent of the 23 products tested by Consumer Reports contained over 120 percent of 0.5 micrograms per day of lead, which is the organization’s “level of concern.”

Consumer Reports outright recommended against consuming two products based on their heavy metal presence — Naked Nutrition’s Mass Gainer powder and Huel’s Black Edition powder.

In response, Naked Nutrition said in a statement that the brand takes “our customers’ health and product transparency extremely seriously and have reviewed the findings closely.” Naked Nutrition said, in part, “While Consumer Reports did not share its complete lab data, we reviewed the available information and verified results through independent third-party testing, which confirmed that no heavy metals exceeded FDA reference intake levels for adults, including for sensitive groups such as women of childbearing age.”

Huel also responded to the claims with a statement and provided further comment to PEOPLE.

“Trace minerals such as lead occur naturally in our planet; crops and plants absorb them from the soil. The levels of lead in the Consumer Reports study is below the amount present in many everyday food items, including fruits and vegetables,” Huel said.

“The Consumer Reports article is based on California’s Proposition 65, which uses an ultra conservative threshold of 0.5 micrograms of lead per day,” a “uniquely cautious regulation rather than an internationally accepted measure of consumer safety.”

The statement continued: “Over the past three years, we have carried out 17 independent tests on Huel Black Edition powder alone, with results consistently showing lead levels between 1.5 and 2.2 micrograms per 90 g serving. These results are well within all recognised safety limits. Huel has also recently been accredited by NSF, the gold standard for product safety and quality, and the most recent NSF report showed undetectable levels of lead.”

Other products Consumer Reports suggested be limited to once a week, or only taken occasionally. See the full list of the 23 products they tested, here.

The FDA said it will be reviewing the findings from Consumer Reports testing, though the administration notably has a higher threshold for daily lead consumption than California (on which Consumer Reports based their recommendations). According to The New York Times, the FDA finds that 2.2 micrograms of lead per day in children, and 8.8 micrograms per day in women of childbearing age, could cause health concerns. In general, dietary supplements live in a “regulatory gray area,” Consumer Reports notes.

Rose Goldman, MD, an associate professor of medicine and physician at Cambridge Health Alliance in Medford, Mass., told Consumer Reports that repeated or continuous exposure to lead causes the greatest risk of danger. Goldman also noted that no amount of lead can technically be considered safe.

Some of the health risks from chronic lead exposure include immune suppression, reproductive problems and kidney damage, among other things.

“It’s very important to overall try to keep lead exposure to the lowest possible based on eating healthy foods and avoiding products like supplements that add unnecessary lead to your diet,” Pieter Cohen, an associate professor at Harvard medical school and a general internist at Cambridge Health Alliance, told CBS News after reviewing the study’s results.

Consumer Reports specified, though, that many of the protein products tested are fine to be consumed occasionally — and even those with the highest lead levels will not cause immediate harm.

Beware!!!!!

Melinda

Reference:

https://people.com/lead-in-popular-protein-powders-new-study-reaffirms-11830994