Posted on 01/13/2026 2:29:21 PM PST by nickcarraway
Finally, some good news for people who love protein powder.
Key Points:
-Consumer Reports released new findings after testing five reader-requested chocolate protein powders for lead and other heavy metals.
-The nonprofit organization previously revealed in late 2025 that it had found surprisingly high levels of lead in the majority of 23 protein powders that it tested.
-This time, Consumer Reports revealed that the protein powders it analyzed most recently contained acceptable levels of lead per serving, pointing to inconsistency across the industry.
Consumer Reports made major waves in October when it revealed the results of its investigation into 23 protein powders, sharing that some of the most popular options on the market contained a concerning amount of lead — and not by a small margin.
The nonprofit organization found that about 70% of the protein powders and shakes it reviewed contained more lead in a single serving than food safety experts deemed safe to consume in a day, with some even containing more than 10 times the recommended limit.
Now, Consumer Reports has released the results of further testing of even more protein products, and this time it’s got good news.
In an email shared with Food & Wine, Consumer Reports explained that it conducted a fresh round of heavy metal testing targeting five of the most popular reader-requested chocolate protein powders. All five were revealed to be safe for daily or near-daily consumption, with overall lower average levels of lead and arsenic than its previous tests had found in protein powders.
"I was surprised by our findings because they seemed to contradict a claim we heard again and again from some parts of the industry after our last investigation: that it was nigh on impossible to make chocolate-flavored or plant-based protein powders with very low levels of lead. These results show that's not the case," Paris Martineau, an investigative journalist on Consumer Reports’ special projects team, shared with Food & Wine.
Scientists Are Rethinking Protein — and Their New Approach Could Change Everything For this round of follow-up testing, Consumer Reports collected five reader-requested protein powder brands: Premier Protein, Equate, Truvani, Clean Simple Eats, and Ritual. To limit the variables that could skew results, the organization focused on chocolate-flavored protein powders only — with any vegan protein powders featuring pea protein as a primary ingredient, similar to its previous testing — and analyzed multiple samples of each powder from distinct product lots.
The team tested each sample for the heavy metals arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury, which it noted were "the four elements of concern identified in our 2025 investigation." It found that for all five powders the levels of heavy metals were "generally consistent across product lots," and four of the five powders tested below its level of concern for lead, which rings in at 0.5 micrograms per daily serving.
Clean Simple Eats’ whey-based protein powder yielded especially great numbers with only 0.21 micrograms of lead per serving, followed closely by another whey-based powder from Walmart’s brand Equate, which had 0.27 micrograms of lead per serving. Next up was Premier Protein’s dairy-based protein powder, with 0.38 micrograms, then Truvani’s plant-based protein powder — made using pea protein — which contained 0.46 micrograms.
We Tasted 26 Protein Bars — and the Top 7 Are Filling, Nutritious, and Actually Delicious One of the plant-based powders, Ritual’s Essential Protein Daily Shake — also made with pea protein — contained 0.53 micrograms of lead per serving, putting it just above the level of concern. However, Consumer Reports outlined that the amount of lead found in this product is low enough that its experts say it’s okay to have up to 6.5 servings of it per week.
The organization emphasizes that consumers should be concerned about lead because it has the ability to "linger" in the body, and repeated exposure, even in small amounts, can accumulate over time and contribute to health risks.
“Consumers shouldn’t have to guess whether their protein powder poses a risk for lead,” Tunde Akinleye, the Consumer Reports food safety researcher who led both testing projects, added in the published findings. “These results show manufacturers can keep contamination low, but we know from prior investigations that lead levels in protein powders are not consistent across the industry.”
The Protein of the Future Might Be Made Out of Air The team also noted in its statement that it believes a "lack of regulation" may be why so many protein powders have higher levels of lead. Oversight of the protein powder industry falls to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); however, as Consumer Reports details, the FDA does not usually review, approve, or test dietary supplements before they’re sold. Additionally, there are no federal limits that dictate how much lead or heavy metals are allowed in protein powders.
The findings come as little surprise to people like Pieter Cohen, MD, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a Cambridge Health Alliance physician, who added in Consumer Reports' statement that these findings are “very consistent with how the supplement industry is,” explaining that “there are companies that are working hard to try to do the right thing, despite the fact that it’s not required by the law, and there are other companies that are cutting corners.”
Cohen underscores that until the FDA provides clear guidance and ensures its requirements are fulfilled, "I doubt there will be any standardization in terms of lead levels in protein powders.”
Lead does get the weight of the product higher with no impact (to speak of) on volume, so it’s understandable that it would be added.
Lead is in the soil naturally and, unless you have very unusual soil, it ends up in the produce you grow.
I saw an article on one popular, expensive, brand of ‘Protein Powder’ a few days ago.... It turned out to be repackaged cake mix with only a tiny percentage of actual protein in it.
Well, at least it wasn’t pureed bugs.
Thanks for info.
Had catfish in New Orleans a few months ago, of course from the Gulf. . Loved the fish but NOT the salty fried batter on it. I’ll just get mine from butcher in Spokane and saute in EVOO, which is exactly where I buy Alaskan salmon and cook it the same way.
Threw out my salt shaker a few years ago. It’s not good for your heart and I really love living. Amazing how soon after I stopped using it, I absolutely hated the salty taste.
I use a bunch of products but mainly Optimum Nutrition Whey Protein. I know ON’s Serious Mass is high but I am not sure about there normal Whey product.
Ended up at the doctor with my heart and blood pressure doing odd things.
Doc told me that if I wanted to die to keep going on that way. Since that was not my goal I started salting my food again.
Congrats on achieving what so many of us strive for...longevity.
My question is what made up you stop taking protein powder at age 80, after 50+ years?
Very interesting about salt. Were you missing iodine? I get plenty of that in kelp from clean waters in some bay in Maine sprinkled on salmon steaks three times a week. Also take a tablet of Icelandic kelp in my pill keeper almost every morning.
Stopped working out 4 times a week...
1=RMs gone to hell...
While changes in diet will often leave you feeling a bit "meh" for a while you should be feeling better in about two weeks. If you are feeling worse you should reconsider what you are doing.
gives understanding to the phrase “get the lead out”
I’m sure it wasn’t. It’s grass fed and from Canadian beef.
I know you want to believe the labeling, but the supplement industry is a hive of scum and villainy, so be careful.
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