A US consumer protection agency has found dangerously high levels of lead in protein supplements. That was the finding from Consumer Reports following research published last month.
The main product of concern was plant-based protein powders. US standards often follow a California consumer guideline to limit daily lead consumption to 0.5 micrograms per day. Consumer Reports found 23 protein powders and pre-made shakes from leading brands would lead the consumer to exceed this level after one serving per day.
The California standard is considered strict. For products aimed at children or pregnant/breastfeeding women, the US Food and Drug Authority recommends no more than 2.2 micrograms per day and 8.8 micrograms per day respectively.
Some products pushed even this level, however. “Naked Nutrition’s Vegan Mass Gainer powder contained 7.7 micrograms of lead per serving,” said Consumer Reports, and “one serving of Huel’s Black Edition powder contained 6.3 micrograms of lead.”
Consuming these products in combination with everyday, incidental lead exposure pushes past safe limits. Multiple servings per day are clearly unsafe.
Naked Nutrition’s vegan protein powders are made from split peas and Huel’s from fava beans. Both brands sell plant-based protein in Australia.
Naked Nutrition appears to have since taken its mass gainer off the market. The company noted in a response to the story that its mass gainer has a large serving size (315 grams); so they are it was not a like-for-like comparison with other products.
Consumer Reports noted vegan protein supplements were on average nine times higher in lead than dairy-based options. About twice as high as dairy were beef-based supplements, such as Muscle Meds’ “Carnivore Mass hydrolyzed Beef Protein Isolate (BPI) with a dual-action insulin signal amplifying technology.”
The issue with plant-based protein appears to simply be that they are a more highly processed food. “Extracting concentrated protein from plants is a complex, highly mechanized process,” Professor Rose Goldman told Consumer Reports. “With every additional step, there’s a chance of introducing contaminants such as lead.”
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