Is your Protein Powder clean?

Checkout this month’s on clean protein powders. This is a reprint, all rights are reserved by the Clean Label Project.

Introduction

Clean Label Project's mission is to raise awareness on the presence of potentially dangerous environmental contaminants and toxins in everyday consumer products. Clean Label Project believes that when it comes to environmental contaminants and toxins, less is better than more. Not only are these compounds toxic, but knowledge on the long-term effects of exposure to these contaminants is concerning and still developing. As a result, Clean Label Project believes that a serious conversation needs to be had with brands and regulatory bodies on the presence of these contaminants in consumer products.

Why Protein Powder?

Protein powder is among the most common dietary supplements in the United States, comprising some $4.78 in sales in 2015.1 People take protein powder for a variety of health reasons (muscle gain, weight loss, endurance training, or general health), but all reasons are based on the core assumption that protein powder is inherently good for the consumer. At Clean Label Project, we 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.

How are Protein Powders Different from Other Consumables?

Dietary supplements, including protein powders, 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.

What was Clean Label Project's Methodology?

Clean Label Project purchased and tested over 130 top selling protein powders based on Nielsen and Amazon's best seller list and supplemented this with top selling products in the natural and organic marketplace. The scope of testing and review included nutritional superiority like protein content and antioxidant activity, as well as industrial and environmental contaminants, which includes heavy metals like arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury, persistent pesticides, BPA, a known endocrine disruptor,2 and mycotoxins, which are linked to cancer, reproductive harm, and brain damage.3

Clean Label Project worked with an analytical chemistry laboratory to test over 60 brands and 134 products, amassing and benchmarking over 25,000 data points.

Read the entire whitepaper here!