Consumer Reports Study Finds Heavy Metals in Protein Powders and Ready-to-Drink Products

Sales of powdered and ready-to-drink protein products rose sharply, surpassing US$32 billion worldwide between 2024 and 2025. More people are now relying on these protein sources every day.

A Consumer Reports study published on 14 October 2025 states that certain protein products contain potentially dangerous amounts of lead, alongside other heavy metals including cadmium and arsenic. At elevated concentrations, these substances carry serious and well-established health risks.

I am a clinical pharmacologist who has assessed heavy metal levels in baby food, calcium supplements and kratom products. Because lead and other heavy metals occur naturally in soil and water, eliminating exposure entirely is not possible.

Moreover, the level of lead exposure Consumer Reports regards as safe is considerably lower than the thresholds used by the Food and Drug Administration.

Nevertheless, whichever safety threshold is applied, the research indicates that several products provide a worrying quantity of heavy metals in each serving.

How Consumer Reports conducted the study

For its new assessment, Consumer Reports selected 23 powdered and ready-to-drink protein products from well-known brands. It sent three samples of every product to an independent commercial laboratory for testing.

Consumer Reports classified more than 0.5 micrograms of lead per day from a single source as exceeding its recommended maximum. This figure is taken from the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, which set recommended maximum amounts for a range of substances that may cause cancer or harm a fetus.

This threshold is far more cautious than the FDA standard for lead exposure in medicines and supplements. The difference reflects Consumer Reports’ aspirational aim of achieving very low exposure, compared with the FDA’s more practical, enforceable requirements.

The FDA says that a person should consume no more than 5 micrograms of lead per day from any one dietary supplement product. That threshold is 10 times the Consumer Reports limit.

The FDA also sets a separate standard for the total amount of lead that can safely be consumed each day from food, medicines and supplements together. Known as the Interim Reference Level, or IRL, for lead, this measure is based on blood lead concentrations linked with adverse health effects in different groups.

For people who may become pregnant, the daily level is 8.8 micrograms; for children, it is 2.2 micrograms. For all other people, it is 12.5 micrograms per day.

Any food, medicine or dietary supplement containing lead adds to a person’s overall daily exposure, which should remain below the relevant limit.

What the Consumer Reports report found

The non-profit consumer advocacy organisation reported that 16 of the 23 products tested exceeded 0.5 micrograms of lead in a standard serving, the amount it considers safe.

Four of the 23 products were above 2.2 micrograms, the FDA threshold for children’s total daily lead intake. Two products supplied 72% and 88%, respectively, of the total daily lead amount the FDA considers safe for pregnant women.

Consumer Reports also identified two of the 23 products that supplied more cadmium per serving than it considers safe, while one product exceeded its recommended arsenic amount.

The organisation’s safety limit is 4.1 micrograms per day for cadmium and 7 micrograms per day for arsenic. These figures are relatively close to the FDA’s recommended exposure limits for cadmium and arsenic from one product. For an individual dietary supplement product, the FDA limit is 5 micrograms per day for cadmium and 15 micrograms per day for arsenic.

Protein source appeared to be an important factor. Plant-derived protein products contained nine times as much lead as dairy proteins such as whey, and twice the amount found in beef-based protein.

Where do these heavy metals come from?

Volcanic rock, formed from molten rock known as magma beneath the Earth’s surface, contains substantial amounts of lead and other heavy metals. As this rock erodes, those metals can contaminate nearby soil and water supplies.

In addition, certain crops are particularly effective at drawing heavy metals out of the soil and concentrating them in the parts of the plant eaten by consumers.

Fossil fuels, which originate deep within the Earth, release heavy metals into the air when burned. The metals subsequently settle into soil and water. Some fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides also contain heavy metals, adding further contamination to local soils and water supplies.

Elevated heavy metal levels have been detected in plant-based protein powder, spices such as cinnamon, dark chocolate, root vegetables including carrots and sweet potatoes, rice, legumes such as pea pods, and many herbal supplements.

Should consumers be concerned, and what can they do?

Going over recommended daily heavy metal amounts on an occasional basis is unlikely to cause serious health problems.

Frequent, substantial exposure can be harmful, however. As these substances build up in the blood, they may delay or impair mental functioning, harm nerves, soften bones and increase blood pressure - which can in turn raise the risk of stroke and heart attack. Heavy metals may also increase the likelihood of developing cancer.

It is important to remember that every product flagged by Consumer Reports had lead concentrations well below the FDA’s maximum daily exposure limits.

Consumers can reduce exposure by selecting dairy- or animal-based protein products, as these generally appear to contain less heavy metal contamination than plant-based alternatives.

That said, not every plant-based protein product in the study contained high heavy metal levels. Environmental concentrations vary substantially, meaning the Consumer Reports findings represent a snapshot at one point in time.

For instance, the findings may not remain consistent between batches if a manufacturer changes where it obtains its raw ingredients.

Where protein products have particularly high heavy metal content, using them occasionally rather than every day may lower exposure. Research indicates that organic plant-based products generally contain less heavy metal contamination than conventionally farmed products.

Finally, Consumer Reports measured heavy metals in one serving of each protein product. It is therefore useful to know the serving size for particular products and not to increase daily consumption dramatically.

The substantial differences in lead levels among protein powders and ready-to-drink protein products underline the need for manufacturers to strengthen product testing and good manufacturing practices.

C. Michael White, Distinguished Professor of Pharmacy Practice, University of Connecticut

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.