Amazon is the latest retailer to be sued for selling protein powder allegedly laced with toxic heavy metals – and duping customers into believing the supplements had “cleaner,” “quality” ingredients that provided “feel-good energy.”
A proposed class action, filed last week in federal court for the Western District of Washington, is accusing the e-commerce giant of deceptively marketing Orgain Organic Plant-Based Protein Powder – failing to disclose that it contained significant levels of arsenic, cadmium and lead.
The lawsuit is accusing Amazon of violating state consumer protection laws, alleging the company “knew or, at a minimum, should have known” that the products contained toxic metals that can lead to serious adverse health effects.
Amazon and Orgain did not immediately respond to The Post’s requests for comment.
Costco is also currently facing litigation from the same law firm, Hagens Berman, accusing it of misleading consumers about the safety of Orgain protein powders.
Both complaints cited an investigation by the Clean Label Project and Consumer Reports, which found that Orgain’s Vanilla Bean protein powder exceeded its “level of concern” for lead.
Independent laboratory testing conducted by Hagens Berman also confirmed the presence of heavy metals in the contaminated products, according to the lawsuits.
Orgain has said its products are safe for daily use despite the Consumer Reports investigation, and their protein powders are not facing any recalls. They’re currently being sold at major retailers including Amazon, Costco, Target and Walmart.
There is no known safe level of exposure to heavy metals, which can pose serious health risks, including cancers; liver, kidney and brain damage; reproductive disorders; skin disorders; and cardiovascular disease, according to the World Health Organization and US Food & Drug Administration.
Yet Amazon marketed Orgain’s Vanilla Bean and Creamy Chocolate Fudge protein powders as healthy supplements, using product listing descriptions such as “Cleaner Ingredients,” “Quality Ingredients,” “Higher Standards,” “Non-GMO,” “USDA ORGANIC” and “Feel Good Energy,” according to the lawsuit.
As a result of that marketing, plaintiff Dawn Cada, a resident of Florida, paid about $30 per container for 36 cases of the protein powder from 2022 through 2026 for her family, including her child with severe special needs, the lawsuit alleged.
The suit alleged other customers were also willing to pay a premium for the protein powders because they were “led to believe” the products “are free from harmful contaminants such as heavy metals.”
The lawsuit is seeking class-action status, with damages and relief for all members of the affected group.
According to the bombshell Consumer Reports study, more than two-thirds of the 23 protein powders and shakes included in the test contained more lead than food safety experts said would be safe to consume in a day – some by more than 10 times.