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the results of this investigation surprised me. since CR last tested protein supplements in 2010, protein mania has swept the nation. protein isolates (the key ingredient in supplements) are in everything these days, from pasta to starbucks cold foam but as the industry has grown, so have the risks

two of the products we tested — Huel's Black Edition meal replacement powder and Naked Nutrition's vegan mass gainer — had enough lead that our experts caution against using them at all a single serving of these protein powders contained between 1,200 and 1,600% of CR’s level of concern for lead

nearly all the plant-based products we tested had elevated lead levels: vegan powders had 9x as much lead as dairy and 2x as much as beef though dairy-based powders had the lowest levels, half were still too contaminated for safe daily use you may be asking: how could this be? well...

i was surprised to learn that bc most protein powders are considered dietary supplements, they basically fall into a regulatory grey area there's no federal limit on the amount of lead they can contain and neither manufacturers nor the FDA have to prove these products are safe before they're sold

there are currently about 12,000 registered supplement manufacturers. last year the FDA inspected only 600 of them! when the agency does do inspections, it overwhelmingly focuses on domestic manufacturers. that's a problem because a LOT of these materials are sourced from foreign factories