Before publication, CR contacted the manufacturers of all the products we tested and shared our results and methodology with them. We wanted to know whether they were using any unique sourcing or manufacturing processes that could explain their comparatively cleaner results, and what that might reveal about other manufacturers\u2019 practices.<\/p>\n
Premier Protein declined to comment. Representatives from Equate\u2019s parent company, Walmart, and Clean Simple Eats didn\u2019t respond to multiple requests for comment.<\/p>\n
Truvani\u2019s co-founder and co-CEO, Derek Halpern, said in an interview that what sets his company apart is the frequency with which it tests for heavy metals. \u201cI\u2019ve been told routinely by my manufacturers that the volume of tests that we ask for far outstrips anyone else they\u2019ve ever worked with,\u201d he said. \u201cI just want a test result for every lot\u2014that doesn\u2019t seem that ridiculous to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Truvani has tested its chocolate-flavored protein powder 162 times over the last 12 months, Halpern said. Every lot of Truvani products is tested for heavy metals and other contaminants, and ingredients that don\u2019t meet internal standards are rejected. (Halpern declined to share the specific thresholds Truvani uses, but said that its lead standard is similar to the California Prop 65 limit that CR uses in its level of concern calculations.)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Halpern said he suspects less rigorous approaches are more common across the industry because they\u2019re less costly and still technically meet FDA requirements. Some companies rely on spot-checks or certificates of analysis from ingredient suppliers instead of testing every finished lot, he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt can be more expensive to ensure that every vat of your product is very low in lead,\u201d says Cohen of Harvard Medical School. \u201cAnd without a requirement that it be that way, it\u2019s unlikely that the industry as a whole is going to move in that direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lindsay Dahl, chief impact officer at the supplement brand Ritual, says she thinks that \u201cheavy metal testing transparency is feasible for the entire industry.\u201d Ritual tests its ingredients and all finished goods for contamination, and uses California\u2019s Prop 65 limit as a goalpost for most products, she says.<\/p>\n
Ritual is unique in that it publishes detailed sourcing information for its products. \u201cWe openly share the final place of manufacturing and the names of our suppliers for the public to see,\u201d says Dahl, who added that the company thinks that \u201cingredient traceability is the best way to help reduce contaminants.\u201d She noted that the powder tested by CR was made with Puris-brand pea protein from North America and cocoa powder from several countries through Cocoa Horizons, a program that promotes sustainable and traceable farming.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt took us three years of searching and testing different cocoa suppliers to finally launch a chocolate flavor version of Essential Protein,\u201d says Dahl, who attributed the delay to Ritual\u2019s heavy metal and human rights standards. \u201cWhile we spend a tremendous amount of time working to find the highest quality suppliers, we also know it\u2019s hard to have formulas that are entirely contaminant-free, which is where our product testing comes in.\u201d<\/p>\n