Worst tier · Protein powders
Huel Black Edition — Chocolate
CR found 6.31 mcg lead plus 9.21 mcg cadmium per serving — the clearest dual lead/cadmium caution in the current evidence set.
AvoidThe strongest current caution for users treating protein powder like a daily meal replacement.
Why it ranks
Consumer Reports reported 6.31 mcg lead and 9.21 mcg cadmium per 90 g serving of Huel Black Edition, Chocolate. CR described Huel as one of two plant-based powders its experts advise against consuming because of lead; it also singled Huel out for cadmium above CR’s daily level of concern. This is stronger evidence than the old site’s generic plant-plus-chocolate warning because it is product-specific, multi-lot, and tied to the exact tested flavor.
Highlights
- CR 2025 product-specific data: 6.31 mcg lead per serving
- CR 2025 product-specific data: 9.21 mcg cadmium per serving
- Exact live Huel Black Edition Chocolate product page verified; product packaging image sourced from that page data
Caveats
- Meal-replacement positioning can turn occasional contaminant exposure into repeated daily exposure
- Huel told CR its ingredients undergo rigorous testing, but CR’s public result still warrants a strong caution
- CR results are lot averages from products purchased in late 2024 / early 2025, not a live batch guarantee
- Do not generalize this result to every Huel SKU without separate data
Testing method
Consumer Reports 2025 multi-lot heavy-metals testing; CR methodology PDF reports ICP-MS metals screening