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Protein Powders and Shakes Contain High Levels of Lead (consumerreports.org) 122

Posted by EditorDavid from the bulking-up dept.
Long-time Slashdot reader fjo3 shares an announcement from the U.S.-based nonprofit Consumer Reports: Protein powders still carry troubling levels of toxic heavy metals, according to a new Consumer Reports (CR) investigation. Our latest tests of 23 protein powders and ready-to-drink shakes from popular brands found that heavy metal contamination has become even more common among protein products, raising concerns that the risks are growing right alongside the industry itself. For more than two-thirds of the products we analyzed, a single serving contained more lead than CR's food safety experts say is safe to consume in a day — some by more than 10 times...

[I]n addition to the average level of lead being higher than what we found 15 years ago, there were also fewer products with undetectable amounts of it. The outliers also packed a heavier punch. Naked Nutrition's Vegan Mass Gainer powder, the product with the highest lead levels, had nearly twice as much lead per serving as the worst product we analyzed in 2010. Nearly all the plant-based products CR tested had elevated lead levels, but some were particularly concerning. Two had so much lead that CR's experts caution against using them at all... Dairy-based protein powders and shakes generally had the lowest amounts of lead, but half of the products we tested still had high enough levels of contamination that CR's experts advise against daily use...

Unlike prescription and over-the-counter drugs, the Food and Drug Administration doesn't review, approve, or test supplements like protein powders before they are sold. Federal regulations also don't generally require supplement makers to prove their products are safe, and there are no federal limits for the amount of heavy metals they can contain.
The article acknowledges that "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. That said, because most people don't actually need protein supplements — nutrition experts say the average American already gets plenty — it makes sense to ask whether these products are worth the added exposure."
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Protein Powders and Shakes Contain High Levels of Lead More

Protein Powders and Shakes Contain High Levels of Lead

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  • Makes sense (Score:5, Funny)

    by korgitser ( 1809018 ) on Saturday October 18, 2025 @07:04PM (#65735208)
    So it turns out gym bros really do have brain damage...

  • Nearly all the plant-based products CR tested had elevated lead levels, but some were particularly concerning. Two had so much lead that CR's experts caution against using them at all... Dairy-based protein powders and shakes generally had the lowest amounts of lead

    ... straight from the cow.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by smithmc ( 451373 )
      "lowest amounts" - still not zero.

      • Re:I get my protein ... (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Retired Chemist ( 5039029 ) on Saturday October 18, 2025 @08:02PM (#65735266)
        Given the power modern analytical methods, you can find almost anything in anything if you try hard enough. Materials like lead and mercury are universal in the environment at very low levels. Inevitably, plants will pick up tiny amounts from the soil and then transfer them to whatever eats them. In general, the levels are insignificant, but when you start making products like protein concentrates, you can also concentrate the impurities. Since supplements are completely unregulated, in the US, because of some very powerful lobbying, there is little that can be done except to avoid questionable products. In my opinion, that is essentially all of them, but other people have different opinions.
        • Rice and beans are cheap, easy, and can be tasty if made correctly. It is a complete protein and has much more vitamins and minerals than protein powders.
          • But where u get ur bacon brah?
            • I like my bacon no doubt. I buy ends and pieces, chop it up, bake it, and refrigerate it, and sprinkle it into my breakfast.
          • I lived on rice and beans for a while in the 90s. Nobody told me I needed B12 supplements. Needless to say I was an unhappy camper until I decided to start eating meat again.
            • I think about 2 eggs a day would satisfy any need, plus rice and beans. Just from my experience. Not to say that I don't eat steaks and junk food, if a person wants/needs to eat cheap and satisfy their needs, then this is a suggestion.
              • Honestly, everybody should just take a multivitamin, because why not?
                • I have debated it to myself, why not just take a multivitamin and eat Pizza most of the time? I find the answer in my poop, my mood, and how happy I am. Usually if your poop is good, then you are good in all sorts of ways. There are all sorts of debate about micro nutrients, and keeping a persons microbiome healthy. I tend to think that I need to eat in a way that keeps my microbiome happy. I pooped a 7 inch one today, that was nice and round. I gave myself a "high five". If you listen to Science Fri
                  • It will keep you from getting dizzy from B-12 deficiency and things like scurvy but it won't help with your poops.

                  • Re: (Score:2)

                    by Bongo ( 13261 )

                    That's interesting, and just to add my own two cents, I have been following a number of doctors and scientists over the last 10 or 20 years, the ones who have been willing to question things. And it seems that there are quite a few myths in the field of medicine and nutrition. One of the curious myths is that eating lots of fibre is good for you. For example, apparently there's only ever been one study on constipation and it found that increasing fibre increased constipation. At the same time, there's the w

                • Honestly, everybody should just take a multivitamin, because why not?

                  It's a waste of money.
                  You pee out most of it anyway.
                  Too much of some vitamins are harmful and it can be easy to overdose when taking a multivitamin.
                  They are not well regulated so you may not even be getting the content "promised" to you on the label.
                  Many of the claims on multivitamins are not based in rigorous science.
                  Did I mention they were a waste of money?

                  A small number of people with medical conditions will get their nutrients through specific, medical foods (such as ensure formulas, etc.), but that

          • > Rice and beans

            Rice is abnormally high in arsenic compared to other grains, especially brown rice. Legumes seem to have a higher affinity for heavy metals like lead, mercury, and cadmium compared to other plants, to the point where they are actively studied for potential use in cleaning pollution from fields.

            Delicious.
            =Smidge=

            • Plants get harmful chemicals from the dirt when they are grown. If they are not grown in dirt that has arsenic in it, then it won't have arsenic in it. Hence, the need for regulation and testing.
              • Unfortunately, in some areas such as Bangladesh where rice is a staple, have an inherently high arsenic level in the water.
                • I have met a person from Bangladesh, I think she was fine. I don't understand why people are so interested in the latest tictock video, when people are in need. Needs can be met if there is a will.
                  • I am not sure about the relevance of this comment. I am sure that there are many people from Bangladesh who are fine. Not everyone is a poor rice farmer after all, just a large percentage of the population. People can live a long time with moderate levels of arsenic in their systems. It may make them weak and ill, but they go on because they have no choice.
                    • I am an idealist, and I wonder why you would be OK with any human being existing while being weak and ill, when they could be vibrant and healthy? I understand that they also live in a place that hurricanes just wipe out their Country here and there. Does Empathy matter to you? To anybody else?
                    • I feel for them, but there is a limited amount that can be done. There are literally millions of people living in Bangladesh in a country with few resources. The world at large is too busy building weapons of mass destruction to spend any money on them, and no one anywhere wants more people. The basic problem is that the world's human population has exceeded what it can sustain. Human life in the abstract has always been pretty cheap (see history for wars, plagues, etc.).

                    • Re: (Score:2)

                      by dgatwood ( 11270 )

                      The basic problem is that the world's human population has exceeded what it can sustain.

                      Not true. We could easily sustain far more people. But most countries don't want people from other countries these days because of a combination of xenophobia and a nationalistic desire for their resources to be used for their own people instead of supporting random refugees. So instead, we allow 1% of our population to hold a third of our nation's wealth and basically squander all of those resources, most of which will likely never be spent or used for anything worthwhile.

                      We live in a screwed up world.

                    • No argument on the last statement, but the world's population is higher than it can sustain. The primary base cause of problems like global warming is too many people.
                • I think it can collect on leaves too. Have they found the source? General aviation (small Cessna type planes) are responsible for 70% of airborne lead.

                  US says lead emissions from small piston-engine aircraft pose public health danger

                  Emissions from the 190,000 U.S. privately owned airplanes operating on leaded fuel account for about 70% of the lead entering the atmosphere, according to prior U.S. government estimates. https://www.reuters.com/busine... [reuters.com]

                  • The arsenic in Bangladesh occurs naturally in the ground water. The issue became apparent when there was a program to create wells to provide water to the locals and the water was found to be contaminated with arsenic. Not all occurrences of toxic materials are from human sources.

              • > If they are not grown in dirt that has arsenic in it

                Good luck finding dirt that doesn't. It is present naturally in topsoils everywhere, and because of the way rice fields are commonly irrigated, those fields tend to have higher than typical amounts. The the rice itself is exceptionally good at absorbing it.

                Not so say it's ever a dangerous quantity; actually getting arsenic poisoning from eating rice is vanishingly rare. That's kind of the point I was making; if your response to protein supplements con

          • Not all beans are complete proteins

        • I get your point; however, lead can not be removed from the body by the body itself. That means it accumulates over time. No amount of lead is acceptable with that understanding.

          • True enough, except that some exposure is probably unavoidable. That is no excuse for leaded gasoline or knowingly selling contaminated products, however.
        • There is some evidence lead was intentionally added to some products (cinnamon, in this example) to improve the color and to increase its weight (https://www.tastingtable.com/1996487/ground-cinnamon-lead-contamination/). And some lead shows up in plants when it is grown in soil that was contaminated (often by human activity, such as spilling or leaks of leaded gasoline).

          No amount of routine exposure to lead is safe.

          For consumer protection, we need routine testing and disclosure of all lead levels in pro
          • "Additionally, according to ARCSA, the unprocessed cinnamon sticks used in recalled products were sourced from Sri Lanka and were sampled by ARCSA and found to have no lead contamination."

            So in this case, for cinnamon at least, there is good evidence lead was introduced by human activity (probably intentional) rather than contamination during growing: https://www.food-safety.com/ar... [food-safety.com]

            I don't know if the same is true of these protein drinks, but the lack of regulation and routine testing suggests it coul

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by smithmc ( 451373 )
          "Dairy-based protein powders and shakes generally had the lowest amounts of lead, but half of the products we tested still had high enough levels of contamination that CR's experts advise against daily use"
          • No argument. The supplement industry in the US is gigantic morass of self-deceptive users and ignorant and greedy producers. That does not also change the fact that foolish or unscrupulous people go around finding dangerous materials in all sorts of things to get publicity and often money without any consideration of the actual harm.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by bjoast ( 1310293 )
      Why do you need protein powders? Can't you just eat... I don't know... food?
      • What will TickTock influencers sell then?

      • Food also contains trace levels of lead. It's a naturally occurring element in soils.

        The question is are you taking it in faster than your body can chuck it out again. Since my mother is 90 there obviously is a "safe" level of lead. Don't let the fear mongers scare you. Your fear makes them money.

        • There was an age from around the 50's where lead was burned in ICE engines, and spread around the world. There was another age back when Romans ruled the world where lead was used to make pipes for drinking water. Studies have found that lead is extremely dangerous for humans. There is no safe level for lead. I'm sure the Oligarchs would agree, I am sure that they screen their drinking water for lead.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Kokuyo ( 549451 )

            I thought the 'Romans were all lead poisoned because pipes!' thing was just people being stupid and not thinking things through?

            My latest info on that front is that the pipes soon got a coating of minerals and didn't pose a long-term problem?

            • Yes. When water goes through a lead pipe it immediately gains an oxide layer that prevents the lead from leaching into the water.

              Lead pipes weren't just Roman. They were used all over the world up to 60 years or so ago.

              • Re: (Score:2)

                by PPH ( 736903 )

                They were used all over the world up to 60 years or so ago.

                And many of those pipes are still in the ground. Take Flint, Michigan, for example. The lead pipes were causing no problem until someone decided to change the city water source (and associated chemistry) which broke down that oxide layer.

            • I thought the 'Romans were all lead poisoned because pipes!' thing was just people being stupid and not thinking things through?

              My latest info on that front is that the pipes soon got a coating of minerals and didn't pose a long-term problem?

              They probably got most of their lead exposure from using lead acetate as a sweetener in wine.

      • Ironically given that they especially don't need another problem, cancer patients are commonly instructed to consume high-protein supplements.

    • I do not consume bovine lactose at any temperature.

  • I listened to a comprehensive NPR report bout this (Score:5, Informative)

    by ndsurvivor ( 891239 ) on Saturday October 18, 2025 @07:39PM (#65735244) Journal
    https://www.npr.org/2025/10/16... [npr.org]. Please support NPR. They are not "facists", not anti-anything. They just give people some facts, an anchor in an otherwise untethered world.

    • They just give people some facts

      Well, we can't have THAT, now can we?

    • A lot of their reporting is extremely high quality.
      Otoh, many of their editorial board and staff are afflicted with TDS.

      • I have yet to hear one example of bias at NPR. I know that in the MAGAverse, they throw around a lot of tropes and lies, and perhaps you can find one example, but the average story on NPR is told by a reasonable person, and it is self evident that they are unbiased. MAGAs just don't like to hear that vaccines are safe, or science that backs global change. It is like they can't notice that the snow comes later in the winter, and melts earlier in the spring. If their Dictator tells them the sky is green,

        • Then I'd say either you're not paying attention, or it's confirmation bias "I agree with them, how could that be biased?" - don't get me wrong, that's a natural human view point.
          But to claim you've never heard a single example is...rather on the order of the (apocryphal) "I don't know a single person who voted for Nixon" in 1972...

          And further, please don't think I'm implying that the problem's not WORSE on much of the MAGA side of the fence. (Then again, considering the public discourse in the last 5 years,

      • Otoh, many of their editorial board and staff are afflicted with TDS.

        Anyone, conservative or liberal, that isn't extremely worried about Trump's authoritarian regime's jailing people without due process in out of the country prisons, attack on free speech of any opinions he doesn't like (such as denying press reporting on the pentagon if it's not cleared by them first, something even Fox News and Newsmax refused to agree to), and overall vague claims to having the power to do whatever the hell he wants are the ones suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome.

        I've lived throug

        • OK, sigh:
          - IANAIL (I am not an immigration lawyer) but 'due process' doesn't mean everyone gets to stand in front of a judge. As I understand, it is longstanding precedent (since 2009 Obama admin, iirc) that illegals CAN be arrested and processed and moved around without the sorts of requirements needed for legal citizens. Thus: this IS due process, for them, according to our laws.
          - denying free speech re the DoD: (shrug) it's certainly a break from practice. Then again, news agencies used to also go fet

          • Ok, sigh yourself:

            As I understand, it is longstanding precedent (since 2009 Obama admin, iirc) that illegals CAN be arrested and processed and moved around without the sorts of requirements needed for legal citizens.

            First, you're assuming that I either didn't know that "removal" as opposed to deportation, ordered by immigration officers instead of judges wasn't a thing, or that I was always ok with it when it happened under previous presidents. Neither is true. I'm the first to criticize Obama when he did something shitty (which started with why I almost didn't vote for him in 2008--as a senator, he voted to give AT&T immunity for giving the NSA metadata without a warrant. Had McCain not picked Sa

    • Of course, NPR is just reporting what CR said. You could actually just read the CR report.

      • The podcast was interesting, I remember listening to it while walking to the grocery store. Most "mainstream" news originates from the AP, or a few other original sources. NPR does have a lot of reporters who are able to generate original news, as in they are in war zones, the whitehouse, and used to be in the Pentagon before they censored all journalists. The podcast included an interview with a primary source, with a back and forth conversation. It made the story more memorable for me.

    • Please support NPR. They are not "facists", not anti-anything.

      NPR publicly promoted a political candidate some years back.
      for better or worse, this says something, esp. if you believe we all have implicit biases.

  • I guess they are just helping that along a bit...

  • Too busy to care? Heard protein is good for you? Just get it from our finest powder, which you can for sure trust, no need to even chew it, comes in coffee, Tim Hortons I think I saw a tv ad for that. You will be full longer, what 's not to like? It seems cynical to me. Like looking for oats at the super market and finding them only in convenient 2 oz packets in a box of 16 packets. Its pre garbage. The extra packaging is ... an insane waste of paper. I can't wait for Bachelor Chow.

  • Lead consumption is cumulative. (Score:3)

    by Fly Swatter ( 30498 ) on Saturday October 18, 2025 @10:57PM (#65735486) Homepage
    If daily levels are higher than the safe level (whatever that is) then it doesn't matter if you only consume it every other day, it is still a problem.

    They are the Food and Drug Administration, powders are consumed - how is it they aren't required to test something we ingest?
    • Being reasonable is out of fashion now. Yes, any levels of lead is bad. The Roman Empire may have been taken down because of lead pipes, that lowered IQ, and made people eager for violence. I see a lot of reflections between the US and the Roman Empire right now.
      • The Roman Empire asks you please keep them out of the discussion.

      • It wasn't really the lead pipes, they are only a danger if your water is acidic. It was the lead everything else. Paint and glaze, makeup, cookware, and artificial sweetener. Also it's still debated whether they were getting enough lead for it to be a problem, but there's no safe amount and it's not an on/off switch so it's reasonable to argue that it was at least part of the problem.

  • Don't expect any protection from the FDA going forward.

    • The "deep state" are only useless idiots who checks water and food quality. MAGAs don't need that. They have ICE jobs now!! Who needs safe water and food???
  • So... how does the lead get in there? (Why) Is it specific to these powders?

    • So... how does the lead get in there?

      That's my question, but it's commonly related to processing equipment so that's my speculation until further notice. But maybe the commonly used proteins somehow attach environmental lead strongly? There could be multiple causes. I too am irritated that zero of the articles on this seem to address this question, though maybe I just haven't found the diamond in the pasture.

      (Why) Is it specific to these powders?

      It probably isn't. Every so often we find out that another class of food products is commonly contaminated with lead.

  • At least in the case of chocolate, it makes sense that a certain amount of lead and cadmium might be in cocoa (making concentrations high in 70% or higher dark chocolate). The root systems of cacao trees can pull it out of the soil. Lead can accumulate on the outer shells of cacao beans post-harvest.

    https://www.consumerreports.or... [consumerreports.org]

    But why is lead so common in protein supplements, particularly vegan protein supplements?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by PPH ( 736903 )

      Just a guess here: Both plants and animals bio-accumulate lead. Plants store it throughout their structure. Whereas animals tend to accumulate the lead principally in their bones. When you slaughter an animal, it is common practice to dispose of the bones. And so there goes the lead.

      • Were bioaccumulation responsible (assuming ubiquitous environmental lead), the animal-based products should show higher levels of contamination. The fact that the opposite is true suggests some alternate method for contamination. Also, has anyone tested users of these products for lead poisoning?

  • Keep you hat on (Score:3)

    by nospam007 ( 722110 ) * on Sunday October 19, 2025 @07:14AM (#65735914)

    They compared results to California’s "Proposition 65" threshold, which is only a consumer-warning benchmark and not a federal law.

      Proposition 65 sets an extremely low “level of concern” of 0.5 micrograms of lead per day, far below the FDA’s own guidance of 15 micrograms per day for adults.

    These figures are expressed as daily intake, not concentration in the product.

    In contrast, the EU regulates heavy metals as contaminants in food supplements under Regulation (EU) 2023/915, which limits lead to 3 milligrams per kilogram of product, equal to 3,000 micrograms per kilo.

    A typical 30-gram serving would therefore legally contain up to about 90 micrograms of lead. Numerically that is much higher than both US reference levels, but EU rules are binding law, not advisory, and products are routinely tested before and after they reach the market.

    In the US, supplements are only lightly regulated under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, and companies do not need pre-market approval.

    So while California’s Proposition 65 looks much stricter, it is mainly a consumer-warning regime, not an enforceable contamination limit, whereas the EU system sets a legal ceiling but enforces it systematically.

    In short, the problem described by Consumer Reports reflects US regulatory gaps rather than something likely to occur widely in the US, though the EU’s numeric limit is paradoxically higher because it is designed as a legal cap, not a “no-risk” benchmark.

    • Prop 65 is just a CYA mechanism. If you don't want to spend money testing your product, just put a prop 65 warning on it. The result: everything has a prop 65 warning. My local Calif hospital has a prop 65 warning on the front door.

  • > Federal regulations also don't generally require supplement makers to prove their products are safe

    No, wait, sorry, that's lead. Lead tastes like Freedom!

  • WHY is there lead in them at all? And why is the quantity increasing?

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