Costco Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Orgain Organic Protein Powder Is Contaminated with Heavy Metals

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges that Costco has misrepresented Orgain Organic Protein Powder as clean and high quality, given that the supplements are apparently tainted with heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and arsenic.

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The 87-page complaint contends that Costco has profited from its non-disclosure of the presence of heavy metals in the vanilla bean and creamy chocolate fudge varieties of Orgain Organic Protein Powder. The suit states that Costco is aware that consumers trust the quality of the protein powders sold by the big-box retailer and would not expect a product touted as high quality, clean and nutritious to contain toxic heavy metals.

According to the lawsuit, independent laboratory testing conducted by consumer organizations and the plaintiffs' counsel detected lead, cadmium and arsenic in some or all samples of Orgain’s protein powders.

Referenced in the complaint is a January 2025 report from the Clean Label Project, which tested at least 160 popular protein powders for heavy metals. The suit notes that neither Orgain flavor variety appeared on the Clean Label Project’s “Clean Sixteen” list of certified protein powders.

The lawsuit also cites an October 2025 Consumer Reports investigation in which Orgain’s vanilla bean powder was rated as “okay to eat occasionally” as its lead content allegedly exceeds California-specific daily intake limits.

According to the complaint, additional testing commissioned by the plaintiffs’ counsel at an accredited laboratory reinforced these findings. The suit says that five total samples across the two Orgain flavors contained lead levels as high as 67 parts per billion (ppb), cadmium levels as high as 70.3 ppb, and arsenic levels as high as 18 ppb.

The lawsuit stresses that heavy metals can accumulate in the body over time and are associated with serious health risks.

Per the suit, arsenic has been linked to cancer, diabetes, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Cadmium has no known safe level of exposure and has been associated with cancers, diseases of the central nervous system, developmental delays and pregnancy complications, the case continues. Lead is recognized worldwide as a highly toxic substance with no known level of safe exposure, and can damage virtually every bodily system and organ, the filing says.

The lawsuit points out that consumers have no ability to detect heavy metal contamination on their own because the Food and Drug Administration does not pre-approve protein powders or establish maximum allowable levels of lead, cadmium or arsenic.

Related Reading: Certain Orgain Protein Shakes Contain Less Grass-Fed Protein Than Advertised, Class Action Claims

“This regulatory gap means that consumers must rely entirely on the manufacturer’s and retailer’s voluntary representations regarding product safety and purity—representations that Costco made through its claims of ‘clean nutrition’ and ‘higher standards’ while omitting the presence of toxic heavy metals,” the filing asserts.

According to the complaint, consumers would have paid less—or chosen competing protein powders at lower prices that do not have detected heavy metals—had the product’s heavy metal content been disclosed somewhere in Costco’s advertising.

The Orgain protein powder class action lawsuit seeks to represent all individuals who purchased Orgain Organic Protein Powder from a Costco retail location or Costco.com for household use and not resale from the start of the applicable statute of limitations period to the present.

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