Heavy metals in Protein powder

Protein powder overview

Protein powder in the HMI library has 1,436 reported results for lead, cadmium, total arsenic, inorganic arsenic, dimethylarsinic acid, monomethylarsonic acid, total mercury, nickel, chromium, aluminium, tin, antimony, uranium, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, V, Se, Au, Ba, Be, Bi, Cs, Li, Mo, Pt, Rb, Ti and Tl from 14 sources.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →2U.S. Food and Drug Administration · 2022FY2018-FY2020 TDS Elements Analytical ResultsFDA Total Diet StudyRead source →3Bavatharani V, Shaw A, Sunil A, Gupta J · 2026Labeling Transparency and Heavy Metal Contamination in Commercial Protein Powders: A Case StudyInternational Journal of Nutritions 2026; 3(2): 37-46Read source →4Canadian Food Inspection Agency · 2020Toxic Metals in Selected Foods – April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019: Food chemistry – Targeted surveys – Final reportCanadian Food Inspection AgencyRead source →5Mustatea G, Ungureanu EL, Iorga SC, Ciotea D, Popa ME · 2021Risk Assessment of Lead and Cadmium in Some Food Supplements Available on the Romanian MarketFoods 2021, 10, 581Read source →6Türkeri ÖN, Canbolat F · 2026Determination of elemental impurity levels in protein powder supplements: A potential consumer health risk assessment studyAdıyaman Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi 2026;12(1):89-100Read source →} WHO GEMS/Food submissions reported lead in protein powder, as sold from 1 result in 1 reporting region, with a subgroup median of 66 µg/kg.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →} In the US Total Diet Study, protein powder, powder or ground had a median lead result of 6.4 µg/kg across 3 composites from 2018–2020.^{2U.S. Food and Drug Administration · 2022FY2018-FY2020 TDS Elements Analytical ResultsFDA Total Diet StudyRead source →}

Across 4 other studies of ordinary farms and markets, reported lead means and medians on an as-sold or fresh-weight basis ranged from 6.7 µg/kg (Spungen et al. 2024) to 2,880 µg/kg (Bavatharani et al. 2026).^{3Bavatharani V, Shaw A, Sunil A, Gupta J · 2026Labeling Transparency and Heavy Metal Contamination in Commercial Protein Powders: A Case StudyInternational Journal of Nutritions 2026; 3(2): 37-46Read source →7Spungen JH, et al. · 2024Infants’ and young children’s dietary exposures to lead and cadmium: FDA total diet study 2018-2020Food Additives & Contaminants: Part ARead source →} For cadmium, 4 studies on an as-sold or fresh-weight basis reported means and medians from 4.42 µg/kg (ÖN et al. 2026) to 480 µg/kg (Bavatharani et al. 2026).^{3Bavatharani V, Shaw A, Sunil A, Gupta J · 2026Labeling Transparency and Heavy Metal Contamination in Commercial Protein Powders: A Case StudyInternational Journal of Nutritions 2026; 3(2): 37-46Read source →6Türkeri ÖN, Canbolat F · 2026Determination of elemental impurity levels in protein powder supplements: A potential consumer health risk assessment studyAdıyaman Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi 2026;12(1):89-100Read source →}

For a buyer the practical points are the form bought, the basis a result is reported on, where the protein powder came from and the laboratory’s reporting limit. Testing finds contamination but does not remove it.

What counts as protein powder

This page covers protein powder in 2 forms kept separate in every comparison: protein powder, powder or ground (1,312 results) and protein powder, as sold (124 results).^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →2U.S. Food and Drug Administration · 2022FY2018-FY2020 TDS Elements Analytical ResultsFDA Total Diet StudyRead source →3Bavatharani V, Shaw A, Sunil A, Gupta J · 2026Labeling Transparency and Heavy Metal Contamination in Commercial Protein Powders: A Case StudyInternational Journal of Nutritions 2026; 3(2): 37-46Read source →4Canadian Food Inspection Agency · 2020Toxic Metals in Selected Foods – April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019: Food chemistry – Targeted surveys – Final reportCanadian Food Inspection AgencyRead source →5Mustatea G, Ungureanu EL, Iorga SC, Ciotea D, Popa ME · 2021Risk Assessment of Lead and Cadmium in Some Food Supplements Available on the Romanian MarketFoods 2021, 10, 581Read source →6Türkeri ÖN, Canbolat F · 2026Determination of elemental impurity levels in protein powder supplements: A potential consumer health risk assessment studyAdıyaman Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi 2026;12(1):89-100Read source →}

Results stay on the basis each source reports: as sold or fresh weight, dry weight, or unstated. Dry-weight, as-sold and unstated results are never pooled, and no moisture conversion is applied.

Heavy metal contamination profile of protein powder

The table holds every extracted protein powder result: one row for each statistic a source reports for a form, group and metal, 1,436 rows in all, grouped by metal and form; percentiles, ranges and maxima for the same samples as a mean or median are shown on that row.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →2U.S. Food and Drug Administration · 2022FY2018-FY2020 TDS Elements Analytical ResultsFDA Total Diet StudyRead source →3Bavatharani V, Shaw A, Sunil A, Gupta J · 2026Labeling Transparency and Heavy Metal Contamination in Commercial Protein Powders: A Case StudyInternational Journal of Nutritions 2026; 3(2): 37-46Read source →4Canadian Food Inspection Agency · 2020Toxic Metals in Selected Foods – April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019: Food chemistry – Targeted surveys – Final reportCanadian Food Inspection AgencyRead source →5Mustatea G, Ungureanu EL, Iorga SC, Ciotea D, Popa ME · 2021Risk Assessment of Lead and Cadmium in Some Food Supplements Available on the Romanian MarketFoods 2021, 10, 581Read source →6Türkeri ÖN, Canbolat F · 2026Determination of elemental impurity levels in protein powder supplements: A potential consumer health risk assessment studyAdıyaman Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi 2026;12(1):89-100Read source →} Monitoring medians are HMI calculations from individual submissions; non-detects remain intervals between zero and the reporting limit and are never read as zero.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →}

679 rows can be rated against an HMI reference for the same form and basis, 81 rows have a direct same-study comparison, and the rest stay unrated with the reason recorded. 69 values from 1 source failed a check against their own source and are shown but not compared.^{8Sri Ranjani CA, Deepti CA · 2025QUANTITATIVE ICP-MS ASSESSMENT OF TRACE METAL DIETARY RISK AND MARGIN OF EXPOSURE IN PROTEIN POWDERS FROM DIVERSE SOURCESAsian J Pharm Clin Res 2025; 18(7): 215-220Read source →}