Clean Nutrition Pea Protein Heavy Metal Testing: What The Results Show

Short answer: our Pea Protein has been independently lab tested for arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury, and every result comes in well under the limits set by the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. Below, we've laid out exactly how those limits work, what our latest test found, and why plant proteins like pea naturally pick up trace amounts of heavy metals in the first place.

You may have seen headlines questioning how "clean" protein powders really are. At Clean Nutrition, our answer is to test regularly, hold our suppliers to the same standard, and publish the actual numbers rather than just a "trust us."

Why We Test Pea Protein For Heavy Metals

Peas, like most plants, draw minerals from the soil and water they grow in. If trace heavy metals are present in that soil or water, the plant can take up small amounts of them too. This isn't unique to peas, or to Clean Nutrition. It's true of most plant-based foods, from rice to spinach to lentils, which is exactly why food regulators set legal limits for how much of these metals can end up in the food you eat.

Because our Pea Protein is a plant-derived ingredient, we test it (and have our supplier test it) specifically for arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury, and we check both sets of results against the New Zealand and Australian regulatory limits.

How Heavy Metals Are Regulated In New Zealand And Australia

Heavy metals in food sold in New Zealand are regulated under the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (FSC), which applies across both countries.^[1] The relevant rule is Standard 1.4.1 – Contaminants and Natural Toxicants, which sets legal Maximum Levels (MLs) for specific heavy metals in specific food categories. The actual limits sit in Schedule 19 – Maximum Levels of Contaminants and Natural Toxicants.^[2]

Standard 1.4.1 exists because certain contaminant levels pose a real risk to public health if exceeded, so food sold in New Zealand and Australia must stay under these limits to be considered safe and suitable to eat. The Standard also requires that contaminant levels be kept as low as reasonably achievable, not just under the legal ceiling.

To give you a sense of what these limits actually look like, here are the MLs for the four heavy metals we test for, across the food categories the Code covers (note: 1 mg/kg is the same as 1 part per million, or ppm):

Pulses and legumes (the category peas fall into) get their own limit for lead, set lower than cereal grains. That's the reference point we use when comparing our Pea Protein results below.

Clean Nutrition Pea Protein: Our Test Results

We commission independent, third-party testing of our Pea Protein through Eurofins, an IANZ-accredited food testing laboratory. Our supplier also tests their raw pea protein for heavy metals as a legal requirement, and we cross-check both sets of results against the FSC limits above.

Our most recent third-party test, completed in June 2026, returned the following results for Clean Nutrition Pea Protein:

View Testing Certificate

A "<" result means the lab didn't detect the metal above its limit of quantification, the smallest amount the equipment can reliably measure. For arsenic and mercury, our Pea Protein sat below that detection threshold entirely.

Why Is Cadmium The Highest Reading?

Of the four, cadmium is the one worth explaining. At 0.058 mg/kg, it's the closest of our results to its reference limit, though still comfortably under it. Legumes, including peas, are known to take up cadmium from soil more readily than cereal grains do. That's a property of the plant, not a sign of contamination, and it's part of why pulses and legumes get treated as their own food category under the FSC rather than being lumped in with grains.

Our supplier's own routine testing shows the same pattern, low, consistent cadmium levels that sit under the regulatory limit. We watch this number closely for exactly that reason.

How Often Do We Test?

Two layers of testing sit behind every batch of Clean Nutrition Pea Protein. Our supplier is legally required to test their raw pea protein for heavy metals before it reaches us, and we separately commission our own independent third-party lab testing on top of that. When both sets of results agree, and both sit under the FSC limits, that's the assurance we're looking for.

What This Means For You

Trace heavy metals turn up in most whole foods, plant proteins included, because they're naturally present in soil and water. The relevant question isn't whether they're detectable at all, it's whether they sit within the levels regulators have determined are safe. On our latest results, Clean Nutrition Pea Protein does, across all four metals we test for.

If you'd like to see how Pea Protein compares to our other protein powders on things like protein content and price, that's covered in our protein comparison blog post.

FAQ

Is pea protein naturally higher in heavy metals than other proteins?

Not inherently, but legumes like peas do take up cadmium from soil more readily than cereal grains. That's a known trait of the plant, which is why our results for cadmium sit closer to (though still under) the reference limit than our arsenic and mercury results do.

How do I know these results are current?

We test regularly through an independent, IANZ-accredited lab, and our supplier tests every batch of raw pea protein as a legal requirement. The results in this post reflect our most recent third-party testing, completed in June 2026.

References

1. Food Standards Australia New Zealand. Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code – Standard 1.4.1 – Contaminants and Natural Toxicants. Federal Register of Legislation.
2. Food Standards Australia New Zealand. Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code – Schedule 19 – Maximum Levels of Contaminants and Natural Toxicants. Federal Register of Legislation.