According to Consumer Reports' studies, popular protein drinks and powders had high amounts of heavy metal contamination. According to the analysis, some well-known brands had significant levels of lead.
More than two-thirds of the items contained more lead in a single serving than is safe to ingest in a single day, according to Consumer Reports' testing of up to 23 well-known protein powders and ready-to-drink smoothies. According to specialists from Consumer Reports, some items really included ten times as much lead as is safe to eat in a day.

High quantities of lead were found in nearly all of the evaluated plant-based products. Consumer Reports advised against using two of the goods at all due to their high lead content.

On average, plant-based protein products contained twice as much lead as beef-based protein products and nine times as much as dairy proteins like whey. The majority of dairy-based protein products had the lowest lead concentration, but according to Consumer Reports, "half of the products we tested still had high enough levels of contamination that CR's experts advise against daily use."
The average lead level was discovered to be higher than it was fifteen years ago, according to Tunde Akinleye, the food safety researcher for Consumer Reports who oversaw the testing operation. Additionally, fewer items had undetectable levels of lead, according to Akinleye.