The Truth About Heavy Metals in Protein Powder | Episode 101
Francine Shaw, CP-FS, FMP
CEO @ Savvy Food Safety l Co-Host @ "Don’t Eat Poop" Podcast ??? l Food Safety Expert ?? l Advisor-Consultant ????♀? l Published Author ?? l Keynote Speaker ?? l ? Goddess of Food Safety ?????
In episode 101 of Don't Eat POOP! A Food Safety Podcast, Matt Regusci and I are joined by Jaclyn Bowen, the Executive Director of the Clean Label Project.
?Food toxicology is the next frontier of food safety, and it’s not just coming, it's already here.
That’s why we need to change and expand the definition of food safety from only protecting consumers from ?microbial and pathogen contaminants, to also minimizing our exposure to dangerous environmental contaminants and toxins in everyday consumer products.
Tune in to discover how Jaclyn Bowen and the Clean Label Project are bringing about this change, as well as what you need to know about? heavy metals, pesticide residues, and packaging migration issues.
Catch up with previous episodes at Savvy Food Safety, Inc.'s Podcast Archives.
In this episode:
Clean Label Project
Clean Label Project? (CLP) is a U.S. non-profit with the mission to bring truth and transparency to food and consumer product labeling. Their goal is to raise awareness on the presence of potentially dangerous industrial and environmental contaminants and toxins in both food and consumer products.
The foundation of food and consumer product safety in America is primarily focused on pathogen and microbiological contaminants. However, there is an increase in consumer, media, and academic attention being paid to the health consequences of exposure to heavy metals, pesticide residues, and plasticizers.
Knowledge on the long-term effects of exposure to these contaminants is concerning and still developing. CLP believes that when it comes to industrial and environmental contaminants and toxins, less is better than more.?
Yet, consumers are never able to find this information on product labels. It is important to understand that nutritional facts labels and ingredient decks don't tell the whole truth about quality. That’s why CLP is committed to changing the definition of food and consumer safety by not just assuming something is safe but making sure it truly is safe through the use of data, science, and transparency.
The way they are bringing truth to the consumer and making these changes is by awarding brands with products that place an emphasized focus on purity and surpass the minimum regulations required by FDA.
Protein Powder Study
Protein powder is among the most common dietary supplements in the United States. The country’s protein supplements market surged past $9.69 billion in 2023.
This increase in consumption was fueled by growing consumer demand for fitness, weight management, and general wellness products. No matter their reasons, everyone who buys protein powder does so based on the core assumption that protein powder is inherently good for the consumer.
?At CLP, they reject the assumption that when it comes to food that safety can be assumed - we prefer to use data and science to uncover the truth behind the market claims.
That made protein powder a product that must further be examined by the CLP, because not only is it widely consumed in U.S., it is also considered a dietary supplement.
The problem is that dietary supplements do not require FDA approval for their marketing claims, and often include phrases like “holistic,” “natural,” and “plant-based,” all of which sound healthy, but are not in and of themselves indicative of any standard of quality. Yet there is a halo of built-in trust that surrounds products in the supplement space - people assume that supplements are regulated like drugs, when in fact they are not.
So, CLP conducted a study of 160 protein powder products from 70 of the top selling brands – based on Nielsen and Amazon's best seller list and supplemented with top selling products in the natural and organic marketplace – which combined make up 83% of the market.
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They tested for industrial and environmental contaminants, such as heavy metals like arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury, persistent pesticides, BPA, and mycotoxins.
The Results
Upon testing over 160 products, the lab discovered that 47% exceeded California Proposition 65 safety thresholds for toxic metals and? 21% of all products tested 2x over Prop 65 for Lead.
Of the protein powders tested,
Even more frightening, 41% of Organic Protein Powders tested over 2X Prop 65 for Lead and 29% of Chocolate Protein Powders tested over 2X Prop 65 for Lead.
While the levels of a single serving may not cause immediate harm, over time, the deposition of lead and other heavy metals within the body can be harmful. This process happens even faster if you have multiple servings a day, which often happens for those trying to bulk up.
BPA, a contaminant where scientific research has established a strong negative impact on the human body as an endocrine disruptor, was found in 55% of the protein powders tested.
CLP didn’t provide a list of the best and worst protein powders they tested. First, because they just don’t want to get sued. Second, because that was not the goal of this study.
?The whole thing that they were looking to provide is really this macro commentary on the state of the protein powder industry. By testing all of these 160 products that make up 83% percent of the retail sales in America, it becomes clear that there's something going on in the industry that needs to be addressed.
So, the idea behind this study from a consumer perspective, is for it to be a call to action, so that consumers ask whatever protein brand that they love, that their family loves, and that is their go-to, about the levels of heavy metals and BPA in their product as well as demand they do something to help minimize the issue.
You can, however, find a list of brands that follow a higher standard and take extra precautions to ensure consumer safety on cleanlabelproject.org.
?? What about you? Did you know your protein powder wasn’t as pure as you thought? Are you ready to do something about it?
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