Setting a Higher Standard for Trust in Plant-Based Nutrition

Recent media coverage, including a Consumer Reports article on heavy metals in protein powders, has raised understandable questions about what’s really in these products. At Field’s Great Nutrition, we welcome this kind of scrutiny because transparency and trust are at the heart of everything we do.

While the Consumer Reports story highlights a real concern in parts of the supplement industry, it can also create confusion. The truth is that trace minerals like lead and cadmium occur naturally in nearly all plant-based foods from spinach and potatoes to tea and cocoa. These elements aren’t “added” or the result of contamination; they come from the soil that nourishes the plants themselves.

Understanding Prop 65 and Why You Might See It on Our Label

The Consumer Reports article relies on California’s Proposition 65 “level of concern” for lead set at 0.5 micrograms per day. This number can sound alarming without context, but it’s important to understand what it really means. Prop 65 is a legal notification requirement, not a scientific safety limit. The threshold was designed to trigger a consumer warning at even the smallest detectable trace not to indicate that a product is unsafe.

In fact, Prop 65’s limit is hundreds of times lower than levels recognized as safe by leading health and toxicology organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO), European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These agencies take a broader, evidence-based approach that reflects what’s naturally present in everyday foods like vegetables, fruits, and grains.

At Field’s Great, we include the Prop 65 warning for our California customers for transparency not because our products are unsafe. The trace mineral levels in Field’s Great are comparable to those found naturally in a serving of vegetables.

Why Trace Minerals Exist in Plant Proteins

Our pea protein, sourced from PURIS®, is made from U.S.-grown peas. As with all crops, peas draw minerals from the earth both beneficial nutrients like magnesium and iron, and trace elements like lead at extremely low, naturally occurring levels.

Here’s some perspective:

• Spinach (1 cup cooked): ~1–3 µg lead
• Carrots (1 cup raw): ~0.3–0.8 µg
• Potatoes (1 medium): ~0.5–1.0 µg

These values are in the same range found in clean, plant-based proteins. That’s simply how nature works.

Our Commitment to Clean, Tested, and Traceable Nutrition

At Field’s Great, quality starts with sourcing. Our ingredients — including PURIS® pea protein, Solnul® prebiotic fiber, SNZ TriBac® probiotics, and Chromax® chromium picolinate are carefully selected, tested, and blended in a GMP-certified facility in the U.S.

We screen our protein powders for heavy metals and other contaminants, ensuring each batch meets our internal standards for safety before it ever reaches you. While no plant-based ingredient can be entirely free of natural minerals, we work to keep levels among the lowest possible through local sourcing and rigorous testing.

A Sensible Perspective

We recognize that reports like Consumer Reports can sound alarming without context. But for most adults, the trace levels found in high-quality plant-based proteins are no different from what’s in everyday produce.

Our promise is simple: clean, transparent, and trustworthy nutrition that helps you feel great every day.