For years, protein powders and shakes have been marketed as the secret weapon for athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and anyone looking to boost their daily nutrition. Grocery store shelves and online retailers brim with options: plant-based, whey, vegan, and even protein-infused cold foam for your morning coffee. But a recent wave of investigations has revealed a troubling side to this booming wellness trend—one that’s left experts and consumers alike questioning just how safe these supplements really are.
On October 14, 2025, Consumer Reports (CR) published an eye-opening investigation that sent shockwaves through the health and wellness community. Their team tested 23 of the most popular protein powders and ready-to-drink shakes sold across the United States. The findings? More than two-thirds of these products contained more lead in a single serving than CR’s food safety experts consider safe for daily consumption. In some cases, the levels were downright staggering. Naked Nutrition’s Vegan Mass Gainer, a favorite among plant-based consumers, clocked in at 7.7 micrograms of lead per serving—an astonishing 1,572% of CR’s recommended safety threshold. Huel Black Edition, another top seller, wasn’t far behind with 6.3 micrograms per serving, or 1,288% of the limit.
Paris Martineau, the journalist who led CR’s investigation, told Fortune, “I was surprised that protein powders contain detectable and concerning amounts of lead. I was surprised that more than two-thirds of the products we tested had high levels of lead.” What alarmed her most was the consistency of the contamination and the fact that these products are often used daily—or even multiple times a day—by their core user base. “The core user base often takes these products daily, or multiple times a day, which is a real risk,” Martineau explained. Even more disturbing, the problem appears to be getting worse. Compared to CR’s last round of testing 15 years ago, the worst product now has twice as much lead as the worst one back then.
Why is this happening? The answer, it turns out, is rooted in both nature and industry. Plant-based protein powders, which have surged in popularity, were found to have about nine times the amount of lead compared to dairy-based proteins like whey. According to Darin Detwiler, a food policy expert at Northeastern University, “Plants used in protein powders—especially rice, peas and hemp—are particularly prone to absorbing lead and other heavy metals from the soil as they grow.” He added, “Unlike dairy-based products, which are filtered through animal biology, plant-based proteins are more directly exposed to environmental contaminants during cultivation.”
Decades of industrial pollution, mining, pesticide use, and contaminated irrigation water have increased the presence of lead in soil globally, Detwiler told Northeastern Global News on October 16, 2025. When these plants are harvested and processed into powders, the drying and grinding steps can concentrate contaminants even further. “Powdered means concentrated when it comes to lead,” Detwiler said. “Drying and grinding plant material can concentrate any contaminants present in the raw crop, including heavy metals.” And because these powders are often blended with ingredients from different sources, a single tainted batch can affect an entire product line.
It’s not just protein powders under scrutiny. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued alerts for 16 brands of cinnamon after finding high levels of lead, highlighting how widespread the issue of heavy metal contamination in plant-based products has become. Spices from global sources such as Sri Lanka and Vietnam have been found in past FDA and academic studies to contain elevated levels of lead, especially when mixed with tainted colorants or additives, Detwiler noted.
So what does all this mean for consumers? The health risks associated with lead exposure are well-documented and severe. Lead is a neurotoxic heavy metal that can cause permanent brain damage in children—even at low levels. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) both affirm that no level of lead exposure is safe for children. For adults, chronic lead exposure can lead to neurological damage, kidney dysfunction, cardiovascular problems, immune system disruption, reduced fertility, and—particularly in older adults—cognitive decline.
Registered dietitian nutritionist Ashley Wilmeth, speaking to KCBD in Lubbock, Texas on October 17, 2025, highlighted some of the symptoms of lead toxicity: “I see a lot more of neurological side effects, so meaning things with the brain, maybe some fatigue or sluggishness. You can actually kind of get a blueish, grayish color to your skin… but usually it’s more of that neurological aspect.”
Despite the risks, the regulatory landscape for protein powders and supplements remains surprisingly lax. Since these products are classified as dietary supplements, they operate in a regulatory gray area with little oversight before hitting the market. There is no federal limit for how much lead is allowed in a protein powder. Companies are expected to self-regulate, and many don’t disclose any testing at all. According to CR, the FDA inspected just 600 of the 12,000 registered supplement manufacturers last year, and only 90 of those inspections were foreign plants—even though much of the U.S. supplement supply chain is international.
Some brands tout NSF safety certifications as a mark of purity, but CR notes that NSF allows up to 10 micrograms of lead per day—20 times CR’s own limit of 0.5 micrograms. In fact, Consumer Reports’ recommended limit is even stricter than the FDA’s Interim Reference Level for lead exposure in children, which is 2.2 micrograms per day. “CR takes a really conservative approach… there’s no known safe amount of lead,” Martineau emphasized. Detwiler echoed this concern: “There is no single, universally accepted federal limit for lead in all food products in the U.S., which is part of the problem.”
So what’s a health-conscious consumer to do? Experts agree on one thing: most people simply don’t need protein powders to meet their daily protein goals. “Many people don’t need as much protein as they think they do,” Martineau said. Unless you’re an athlete, pregnant, or an older adult, you likely only need 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day—a target easily met with whole foods. Harvard Health points out that a 140-pound adult needs just 53 grams of protein a day, which can be achieved with a cup of Greek yogurt and a chicken breast, or a serving of tofu with beans. The average American already gets more than enough protein from their diet.
Both Detwiler and Wilmeth recommend a food-first approach. “Nutrition strategies should emphasize whole foods over ultra-processed ‘nutritional boosters’ unless medically necessary,” Detwiler said. Wilmeth added, “Still very much they have their place. It’s not something we need to be creating food fear about… but it is what it is, a supplement, so we hope to have a good solid foundation of food first to start and build from.”
Until stricter regulations are in place, consumers—particularly parents, pregnant individuals, older adults, and those with chronic conditions—should be cautious about daily use of protein powders, especially those based on rice, hemp, and pea protein, unless they are third-party tested for contaminants. Choosing products certified by independent bodies like NSF, USP, or Informed-Choice can provide some added assurance, but experts say the safest bet is to stick with whole foods whenever possible.
While protein powders and shakes may seem like a quick fix, the mounting evidence suggests that the healthiest—and safest—choices are often the simplest ones. Sometimes, less really is more.
