10/14/2025
Protein supplements are wildly popular, but Consumer Report’s tests of 23 products found that more than two-thirds of them contain more lead in a single serving than our experts say is safe to have in a day.
"Children and pregnant people are most vulnerable because lead can damage the developing brain and nervous system, which has the potential to cause neurological issues, learning delays, and behavioral problems. But chronic lead exposure has also been linked to immune suppression, reproductive problems, kidney damage, and high blood pressure in adults."
It's important to note that it's not hard to get enough protein. Americans, on average, get way more than enough. Consider a fruit/greens and yogurt/kefir smoothie instead of a protein shake, and you could eat a handful of nuts with it, or throw in some nut butter!
Nearly all the plant-based products 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.
Most protein powders are considered dietary supplements (rather than food), so they 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. This is the case for all dietary supplements. There are currently about 12,000 registered supplement manufacturers, and last year the FDA inspected only 600 of them! When the agency does do inspections, it mainly focuses on domestic manufacturers, which is a problem because tons of these products/ingredients are sourced from foreign factories.
CR tests of 23 popular protein powders and shakes found that most contain high levels of lead.
