Amazon is facing a class-action lawsuit over the sale of Orgain protein powder that allegedly contains concerning levels of heavy metals.
According to a lawsuit filed on July 31, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, Orgain Organic Protein Powder allegedly contains lead, cadmium, and arsenic, and Amazon sold the product without providing adequate warnings to consumers.
The product was marketed on Amazon using phrases such as “cleaner ingredients,” “quality ingredients,” “higher standards,” and “feel-good energy”—claims that the plaintiffs argue were misleading.
Who Filed the Lawsuit and What It Seeks
The lawsuit was filed by Hagens Berman, a well-known U.S. law firm specializing in consumer protection.
The named plaintiff purchased 36 containers of the allegedly contaminated product at approximately $30 each, spending about $1,080 in total. She stated that she would never have purchased the product at any price had she known it allegedly contained heavy metals.
According to the lawsuit, the protein powder was consumed daily by her family, including a child, raising additional concerns because young children are especially vulnerable to the harmful effects of lead exposure.
The plaintiffs also point to Amazon’s size and resources, arguing that the company had the ability to test products for heavy metals or require suppliers to provide testing results.
Not the First Time — And Not Just Orgain
Earlier in July, the same product became the subject of a similar lawsuit against Costco, and the same law firm announced that it was also considering legal action against Amazon over the sale of the product. The Costco lawsuit alleges that laboratory testing detected lead, cadmium, and arsenic in Orgain protein powder.
This is not the first time Amazon has faced allegations of this kind. In May 2025, the company was sued over the sale of 18 rice products that allegedly contained elevated levels of heavy metals, including products sold under Ben’s Original and Amazon’s own Whole Foods 365 brand.
Independent of the legal cases, the controversy stems from research conducted by Consumer Reports (CR), one of the most influential consumer advocacy organizations in the United States.
In October 2025, Consumer Reports published the results of testing 23 protein powders and ready-to-drink protein shakes available on the market. The organization found that many of the tested products contained concerning levels of lead. Plant-based products, on average, contained more lead than dairy-based protein products.
Orgain Organic Plant-Based Protein Powder (Chocolate) ranked 12th out of the 23 products tested. The analysis found 0.72 micrograms of lead per serving, approximately 44 percent above Consumer Reports’ level of concern of 0.5 micrograms per day, which is based on California’s Proposition 65 standard.
In other words, the measured amount represented about 143 percent of the level of concern, but it was not 143 percent above that level.
The highest lead concentrations were found in Naked Nutrition Vegan Mass Gainer and Huel Black Edition, prompting Consumer Reports to recommend that consumers avoid those products.
Consumer Reports investigative journalist Paris Martineau, who worked on the investigation, also told Food & Wineabout follow-up testing of five additional brands requested by readers: Premier Protein, Equate, Truvani, Clean Simple Eats, and Ritual.
Four of the five additional products tested contained lead levels below Consumer Reports’ level of concern. The results demonstrated that it is possible to manufacture chocolate and plant-based protein powders with significantly lower levels of contamination.
Those findings challenge claims made by parts of the industry that, because heavy metals naturally occur in soil, it is virtually impossible to produce chocolate or plant-based protein powders with low lead levels.
What the Plaintiffs Claim
The plaintiffs argue that Amazon knew, or reasonably should have known, about the alleged presence of heavy metals in the product but continued selling it without providing adequate warnings to consumers.
Given Amazon’s enormous customer base, the attorneys argue that the potential number of consumers affected by the lawsuit could be substantial.
The lawsuit has been filed, and the court will ultimately decide the outcome of the case.
Sources: Hagens Berman; Consumer Reports; Newsweek; Food & Wine; X post by Consumer Reports investigative journalist Paris Martineau.