February 4, 2026 Lennox Vellekoop

Heavy Metal Testing in Protein & Collagen Powders

What we test, why we test, and what the results mean

When it comes to supplements like protein and collagen powders, one of the questions we’re regularly asked is whether we test our products for the presence of heavy metals. You may also have seen headlines or social posts questioning how “clean” protein powders really are.

At Nothing Naughty, we believe the best response is simple: test regularly, audit suppliers, meet (and exceed) food safety standards, and share the results openly.

Here’s exactly how heavy metals are regulated in New Zealand and Australia, what we test for, and how our protein powders stack up.

New Zealand and Australia food requirements

The nitty gritty is that in New Zealand heavy metals in food are regulated under the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (FSC) (Food Standards Code | Food Standards Australia New Zealand). This is through:

Standard 1.4.1 – Contaminants and Natural Toxicants, setting Maximum Levels (MLs)
(Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code – Standard 1.4.1 – Contaminants and natural toxicants - Federal Register of Legislation); and the accompanying
Schedule 19 Maximum levels of contaminants and natural toxicants (Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code – Schedule 19 – Maximum levels of contaminants and natural toxicants - Federal Register of Legislation)

Standard 1.4.1 has set limits where they have determined where there is a potential risk to public health and safety if the set limit for a certain food is exceeded. This Standard also ensures that food must be safe and suitable for human consumption. As a result, the concentration of contaminants and natural toxicants in any food produced should be kept as low as reasonably achievable.

For those who would like to know these are the set limits for the following heavy metals in Standard 1.4.1 (please note 1mg/kg = 1 ppm):

Arsenic

Arsenic total:

Cereal grains and milled cereal products 1 mg/kg
Salt 0.5 mg/kg

Cadmium

Rice and Wheat 0.1 mg/kg
Salt 0.5 mg/kg

Lead

Cereals, pulses and legumes 0.2 mg/kg
Fruit 0.1 mg/kg
Vegetables (except brassicas) 0.1 mg/kg

Mercury

Salt 0.1 mg/kg
Fish (other fish, fish products),
crustacea and molluscs (mean) 0.5 mg/kg

At Nothing Naughty we have undertaken third party testing of our protein powders (including our Whey Protein Powder, Lean Bean Fava/Faba Bean Protein Powder and Pea Protein Powder) as well as our collagen powders. In addition to this, our suppliers also do their own routine testing of their products for heavy metals. This is a legal requirement as a supplier. We then compare our third party testing results and our supplier testing results against the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (FSC) outlined above.

Both of our own third party testing and our supplier testing show results that are well below the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (FSC).

If you’d like to know the exact numbers and further details on each product, then keep on reading as we’ve outlined these below. The middle column shows our third party testing and the right hand column shows the FSC limits.

Nothing Naughty Whey Protein Powder

Nothing Naughty only uses whey protein powders from milk produced in New Zealand.

New Zealand’s milk supply is monitored through the National Chemical Contaminants Programme (NCCP) operated by New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).

NCCP testing has been operated by MPI since 2002, and shows that raw milk is very low in heavy metal contaminants and provides assurance of the entire New Zealand Dairy Industry being free of harmful levels of heavy metals.

Our New Zealand whey powder supplier has their dairy products routinely tested by external laboratories for heavy metals. Their products have shown to be very low in these contaminants over a long period of time and comply with the FSC limits.

Our own independent third party testing of our whey protein powder for heavy metals are consistent with our supplier’s results and showed results well below the FSC limits. These are listed below:

ELEMENT	Nothing Naughty third party testing	FSC set limit (referenced above)
Arsenic	<0.05 mg/kg	0.5 mg/kg (Salt)
Cadmium	<0.002 mg/kg	0.1 mg/kg (Rice and Wheat)
Lead	<0.01 mg/kg	0.2 mg/kg (Cereals, pulses and legumes)
Mercury	<0.002 mg/kg	0.1 mg/kg (Salt)

Nothing Naughty Lean bean (Fava / Faba bean) Protein Powder

Nothing Naughty uses European or Australian sourced fava bean protein powder.

Fava beans can contain heavy metals because plants absorb them from soil and water. Research has shown that some fava bean genotypes are capable of accumulating multiple heavy metals in the non-edible parts (roots and shoots), but not in the edible parts (seeds).

Our fava bean protein suppliers routinely test their product for heavy metals. Their products have shown low levels of these contaminants and comply with the FSC limits.

We have also undertaken third party testing of fava bean powder for heavy metals and the results are listed below, and they are consistent with the supplier’s results. These are also well below the FSC limit.

ELEMENT	Nothing Naughty third party testing	FSC set limit (referenced above)
Arsenic	<0.05 mg/kg	0.5 mg/kg (Salt)
Cadmium	0.002 mg/kg	0.1 mg/kg (Rice and Wheat)
Lead	< 0.01 mg/kg	0.2 mg/kg (Cereals, pulses and legumes)
Mercury	<0.002 mg/kg	0.1 mg/kg (Salt)

Nothing Naughty Pea Protein Powder

Nothing Naughty uses pea protein powder produced from US and Canadian peas.

Peas can contain heavy metals because plants absorb them from soil and water.

Our pea protein suppliers routinely test their product for heavy metals. Their products have shown low levels of these contaminants and comply with the FSC limits.

We have also undertaken third party testing of our pea protein powder for heavy metals and the results are listed below, and they are consistent with the supplier’s results.

ELEMENT	Nothing Naughty third party testing	FSC set limit (referenced above)
Arsenic	<0.05 mg/kg	0.5 mg/kg (Salt)
Cadmium	0.054 mg/kg	0.1 mg/kg (Rice and Wheat)
Lead	0.04 mg/kg	0.2 mg/kg (Cereals, pulses and legumes)
Mercury	<0.002 mg/kg	0.1 mg/kg (Salt)

Nothing Naughty Marine Collagen

Nothing Naughty uses marine collagen powder produced in France.

Our marine collagen supplier routinely tests their product for heavy metals. Their products have shown low levels of these contaminants.

We have also undertaken third party testing of marine collagen powder for heavy metals and the results are listed below, and they are consistent with the supplier’s results.

ELEMENT	Nothing Naughty third party testing	FSC set limit (referenced above)
Arsenic	<0.05 mg/kg	0.5 mg/kg (Salt)
Cadmium	<0.002 mg/kg	0.1 mg/kg (Rice and Wheat)
Lead	0.01 mg/kg	0.2 mg/kg (Cereals, pulses and legumes)
Mercury	<0.002 mg/kg	0.1 mg/kg (Salt)

Nothing Naughty Bovine Collagen

Nothing Naughty uses bovine collagen powder made in:

Argentina, from product from South American; or
France, from product from the European Union and South America

Our bovine collagen supplier routinely tests their product for heavy metals. Their products have shown low levels of these contaminants.

We have also undertaken third party testing of bovine collagen powder for heavy metals and the results are listed below, and they are consistent with the supplier’s results albeit our testing is more sensitive.

ELEMENT	Nothing Naughty third party testing	FSC set limit (referenced above)
Arsenic	<0.05 mg/kg	0.5 mg/kg (Salt)
Cadmium	<0.002 mg/kg	0.1 mg/kg (Rice and Wheat)
Lead	<0.01 mg/kg	0.2 mg/kg (Cereals, pulses and legumes)
Mercury	0.002 mg/kg	0.1 mg/kg (Salt)

As always if you’d like any additional information, feel free to reach out to us on help@nothingnaughty.kiwi.nz.