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In this year where protein rules, an alarming, weighty report in Consumer Reports last week found that many protein supplements contain potentially dangerous levels of lead. The mag tested 23 powders and shakes and found that two-thirds of them "contained more lead than CR's food safety experts say is safe to consume in a day-some by more than 10 times." CR used baseline of 0.5 micrograms per day, based on California's Prop 65 maximum dose level, "which has a wide safety margin built in" and with which several producers took issue, separating out products into several categories: Products to Avoid, Recommend Limiting to Once a Week, Okay to Eat Occasionally and Better Choices for Daily Consumption. The report, which was updated a coupla days ago, details the various ways lead can make its way into products as a result of using vegetable-based protein, usually pea protein, production of which has several potential points of entry. Several producers disputed CR's methodology and told the mag that they believed their products were safe. CR's worst offenders were Naked Nutrition's Vegan Mass Gainer Vanilla powder and Huel's Black Edition Chocolate powder, the only two items on Products to Avoid list, with 1,572% and 1,288% of mag's "level of concern" per serving. Naked CMO James Clark said co takes "our customers' health very seriously" but that co would request a 3d-party test in response the findings, while a Huel spokesperson said co was "confident in the current formulation and safety of the products," which is "well within the limits set out by" the National Sanitation Foundation, a nonprofit org with standards of 10 micrograms per day, 20X that of CR. Report notes that Americans consume 5.3 mcg per day of lead on average, while the FDA has an 8.8 mcg/day interim reference level, targeted at pregnant women, "but an FDA spokesperson told CR there is sufficient evidence for applying the 8.8 micrograms per day benchmark to all adults."Among bevs, 5 products ended up on CR's Recommend Limiting to Once a Week list: Jocko Fuel's M&ouml;lk Protein Shake, Quest's Protein Shake, Optimum Nutrition's Gold Standard Protein Shake, Ensure's Plant-Based Protein Nutrition Shake and Muscle Milk's Pro Advanced Protein Shake, all in chocolate flavor. Jocko Fuel and Muscle Milk (a Pepsi-owned brand) didn't respond to CR's request for comment, while Optimum declined to speak. John Koval, a rep for Abbott, maker of Ensure, said "consumers can be assured the product is safe" while a spokesperson for Quest said CR's findings were actually "evidence that our robust food safety programs are working effectively." Quest's shakes came in at 161% of CR's concern for lead, and the mag recommended a 4⅓-serving weekly limit. Only one bev made the Better Choices for Daily Consumption list: OWYN's Pro Elite High Protein Shake, also in Chocolate, which had 88% of CR's daily limit and mag okayed for daily use.By the Way, Experts Kibbitz, Enuf with All the Added Protein Already! Much of report tackles the scientific, semantic and legal concerns around the issue, and is too long to summarize here but well worth reading if ya got 30 minutes. But there's a broader issue, nutritionists told CR: Most Americans - even those on vegan diets - get sufficient amounts of protein from normal diets and that "when you fortify [your] diet with supplements you're putting yourself at risk," per Nicholas Burd, professor of health & kinesiology at Univ of Illinois Urbana-Champagne. "I'm constantly trying to pull protein out of people's diets," he added, but is "fighting a losing battle" against fitness influencers who argue that Americans need twice as much protein as currently recommended: "I get so much pushback."

RESEARCH: Consumer Reports Finds Worrying Lead Content in Most Protein Supplements tho Producers Mainly Stand Firm; Experts Ask, Who Needs All That Protein Anyway?

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