Consumer Reports on Protein Powders: Are Lead Levels Cause for Concern?
Posted:
2025-11-06
What’s Happening?
In October 2025, Consumer Reports, an American organization, published their findings that many protein powders sold in the United States of America (USA) had concerning amounts of lead in them (1). Their independent analysis of 23 protein powders found that only one protein powder had “undetectable” amounts of lead; six more had low enough lead levels that Consumer Reports considered them safe for daily use. Flavour (e.g. vanilla vs. chocolate) did not appear to impact lead levels.
In the report, plant-based products were the worst offenders, while dairy proteins had the lowest lead levels (1). This was not surprising, as plant products tend to absorb more lead through the soil, water and air in their environment (1). In addition to their growing environment, protein powders could be contaminated with lead at multiple points during their extraction and manufacturing processes (1). All of the plant-based protein powders that Consumer Reports tested used pea protein as their main ingredient, although the authors did not speculate as to whether the lead levels in pea protein were any different than in other plant-based protein powders (1).
It should be noted that the safe intake levels defined by Consumer Reports are lower than the safe intake levels determined by Health Canada and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (2). The PEN Team asked: what data are these organizations using to determine their safe intake levels, and why do they differ?
Analysis
Consumer Reports and American Standards and Data
Consumer Reports defined “safe” lead intake levels at 0.5 micrograms (ug) daily, which is in line with standards set by the state of California (1). The FDA has not set national standards for lead levels in food for the general public, but its safe upper limits of exposure for children (2.2 ug daily) and women of childbearing age (8.8 ug daily) are higher than the levels used by Consumer Reports (1). According to Consumer Reports, “An FDA spokesperson told CR there is sufficient evidence that the 8.8 micrograms per day benchmark should be applied to all adults” (1).
Given this discrepancy, it is difficult to know which safe target level consumers should aim for. Still, some protein powders that Consumer Reports tested (Naked Nutrition’s Mass Gainer, Huel’s Black Edition) contained between 6 and 8 ug lead in a single serving. Given a 2019 FDA analysis that showed that, on average, American adults consume 5.3 ug lead through dietary exposure daily, daily consumption of either protein powder would cause the average person to exceed even the suggested FDA target.
Canadian Standards and Data
In Canada, protein powders may be regulated as a food or a natural health product (NHP). When regulated as a food, there are no clear limits on the amount of allowable lead in protein powders. Foods sold in Canada currently follow an “as low as reasonably achievable” approach to lead reduction, and at this time health officials have not reported a reason for concern about lead levels in protein powders (3). Concentrations of lead and other contaminants are measured regularly by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), and their most recent report found that none of the protein powders they evaluated posed a concern to human health (3).
Protein powders regulated as NHPs do have clear limits on the amount of allowable lead: they must contain less than 10 ug lead per daily serving (3). According to a Health Canada employee’s comment on the recent Consumer Reports publication, this benchmark is more in line with international standards than the 0.5 ug daily benchmark used by Consumer Reports (2).
Some Canadian companies that make protein powders (e.g.
Manitoba Harvest and
Canadian Protein) allow you to see third-party safety test results for the exact product you bought when you enter the product’s lot number (typically found on the bottom of the package) into their website. This is not typical, but where it is available it allows consumers to make informed decisions about their protein powder intake tailored to their personal risk tolerance.
Australian Standards and Data
Australia does not monitor the amount of lead found in protein powders (4). However, they regularly monitor overall intake of dietary contaminants through the Australian Total Diet Study (TDS) (5). The most recent TDS concluded that “dietary exposure to lead is acceptable” (5).
Bottom Line
Consumer Reports used a much stricter benchmark to estimate “safe” levels of lead in protein powders than federal American, Canadian and Australian health authorities do. Although all the protein powders evaluated by Consumer Reports exceeded safety standards for lead content set by the state of California, they did not exceed the safety standards set by American, Canadian or Australian health authorities.
In the absence of clear information, dietitians can counsel clients in the most vulnerable groups (children and pregnant women) not to consume protein powders daily in order to limit their exposure to lead (1). Concerned clients who are not in these groups and want to consume protein powder daily could be encouraged to switch to a dairy-based powder or a brand that is overly transparent with their safety testing results. However, most clients can be reassured that even consuming a daily serving of protein powder has not been identified as a safety concern by the major health authorities in Canada, Australia or the USA.
Signs and symptoms of lead toxicity are varied, can be different between children and adults, and may not be present at lower levels of exposure. If your client believes that they may have high lead levels, they should speak with a physician.
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References
- Martineau P. Protein Powders and Shakes Contain High Levels of Lead. Consumer Reports. Published 14 October 2025; updated 22 October 2025. Accessed 5 November 2025. Available from: https://www.consumerreports.org/lead/protein-powders-and-shakes-contain-high-levels-of-lead-a4206364640/
- Ramsay J. Lead in your protein smoothie? Health Canada weighs in on Consumer Reports study. Inside Halton. Published 20 October 2025. Accessed 5 November 2025. Available from: https://www.insidehalton.com/news/consumer-reports-lead-levels-in-protein-powder/article_de351e64-1ef8-5560-a253-17b3d402bd73.html
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Toxic Metals in Selected Foods - April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019: Food chemistry - targeted surveys - Final report. Published n.d. accessed 5 November 2025. Available from: https://inspection.canada.ca/sites/default/files/legacy/DAM/DAM-food-aliments/STAGING/text-texte/txc_mtls_slctd_fds_apr_2018_mar_2019_1598636668932_eng.pdf
- Mantzioris E. Some US protein powders contain high levels of lead. Can I tell if mine is safe? The Conversation. Published 16 October 2025. Accessed 5 November 2025. Available from: https://theconversation.com/some-us-protein-powders-contain-high-levels-of-lead-can-i-tell-if-mine-is-safe-267541
- Food Standards Australian New Zealand. 25th Australian Total Diet Study. Food Standards Australian New Zealand. Published June 2019; accessed 14 October 2025. Available from: https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-11/25th-ATDS.pdf
