Protein powders and ready-to-drink shakes contain alarming levels of metal contamination, according to tests conducted by Consumer Reports.
The report tested 23 popular protein powders and shakes and found more than two-thirds of the products had more lead in a single serving than experts have deemed safe to consume in one day.
Nearly all the plant-based products tested contained elevated levels of lead, with two having so much lead that Consumer Reports warned against using them at all.
Meanwhile, dairy-based protein products generally had the lowest lead amounts; however, the levels were still high enough for experts to advise against daily use.
According to Forbes, Tunde Akinleye, food safety researcher who led the testing project, said the average lead level is higher than it was a decade ago.
Products with the highest levels of lead:
Measured by micrograms, the protein products with the largest concentrations of lead included Chocolate (6.31 mcg), Huel Black Edition, Chocolate (6.31 mcg) and Naked Nutrition Vegan Mass Gainer (7.7 mcg).
The presence of lead and other metals in protein products is not unprecedented. The Clean Label Project, a nonprofit advocating for transparent food labelling, found in a January report that plant-based powders contained three times more lead than whey-based products.
It also found chocolate-flavoured protein powders had four times more lead and up to 110 times more cadmium, a carcinogen, than vanilla-flavoured powders.
