Consumer Reports tests protein powders and finds alarming amounts of lead

Retroguy2000
Retroguy2000 Posts: 2,181 Member
in Food and Nutrition

CR’s tests of 23 products found that more than two-thirds of them contain more lead in a single serving than our experts say is safe to have in a day

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.

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. A single serving of these protein powders contained between 1,200 and 1,600 percent of CR’s level of concern for lead, which is 0.5 micrograms per day. Two others had between 400 and 600 percent of that level per daily serving. CR experts recommend limiting these to once a week.

https://www.consumerreports.org/lead/protein-powders-and-shakes-contain-high-levels-of-lead-a4206364640/

Replies

  • SafariGalNYC
    SafariGalNYC Posts: 2,472 Member
    edited October 18
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10950276/consumer-reports-tests-protein-powders-and-finds-alarming-amounts-of-lead

    great study! Thanks for posting!

    I find myself Looking for 3rd party testing quite often. Seems every product brings me down a rabbit hole of research!

    Teas and coffees are my current list to find!

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 38,467 Community Helper

    I have no skin in this game, because I don't use protein powders.

    That said, I follow some medical professionals' and dietitians' social network feeds. I've seen more than one post from fairly moderate, mainstream examples of those professions pointing out the CR used the California standards as their benchmark, rather than the US national standards. They said that the California standards requires dramatically lower lead levels than the US national standards, order of magnitude difference. One dietitian said that carrots contain more lead than some of these criticized protein powders, and another said that a typical mixed-whole-foods meal contains more lead than the per-meal amounts described as concerning by CR in the protein powders.

    I haven't followed up either side's claims, because - again - I don't care.

    If I did care, I'd be looking up details about the study and those dietitians' counter-claims.

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