Thank you to @Jian Xin Lim 🔸 for encouraging me to post this as part of Draft Amnesty Week.

Introduction

So, today I heard about the Consumer Reports study to do with lead in Huel (and other drinks). And I was pretty concerned about this as I drink it regularly, so spent most of today reading and discussing this. However I am a full time student,  co-chair of EA Bath, and have various other commitments, so this is more just a collection of my findings, rather than a post with a proper conclusion? I am also posting this as part of Draft Amnesty Week and Jian Xin recommended that it would maybe be a good idea.

Safety thresholds of heavy metals 

• EU - 270mcg per day
• UK - 135mcg per day
• NSF - 10mcg per day
  • NSF is an independent US public health and safety organisation that develops standards and certifies products for food safety
  • NSF test on Black Edition showed lead was non-detectable under their testing threshold of 3.6ug 

The CONTAM Panel concluded that the current PTWI of 25 μg/kg b.w. is no longer appropriate as there is no evidence for a threshold for critical lead-induced effects.

Conclusion is that there is no safe threshold, any exposure is bad, feels very fuzzy for upper limits? 
 

Huel tests and stats vs CR

Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports - Protein Powders and Shakes Contain High Levels of Lead 
Take into account that Consumer Reports are generally pro meat and dairy - according to a reddit comment? (Can't find the comment)
More on Consumer Reports  - includes a chart of different test results.

The table from CR states that per 90g serving, there is 1.42 mcg of Arsenic, 15.8 ppb (parts per billion - or 1mcg/kg). 9.21 Cadmium mcg, 42.9 Cadmium ppb, 6.31 mcg Lead, 70.2 ppb Lead.

CR use the 0.5mcg/day MADL  (Maximum Allowable Dose Level) (specifically made for reproductive and development toxicity). 

The NSRL  (No Significant Risk Level) for Cancer risk is 15mcg/day.
This is prop 65. Full study linked here. Rats were exposed to lead compounds over a wide range of doses and developed renal tumours which were identified as a suitable estimation for cancer potency.
Mark from Huel says : The Consumer Reports study used an extremely cautious limit based on California’s Prop-65 – Their 0.5 µg per day threshold comes from California’s Proposition 65, which divides the observable effect level by 1,000 as an added safety buffer. It’s not an internationally recognised measure of risk.
Potency Estimate at 0.047mg/day. NSRL at 15mcg/day.
 

Arsenic - WHO recommends 10mcg/L here.

Huel

Huel have done 17 tests on Black edition powder, every result is lower than the figures from CR. Independent accredited laboratories. But also Huel don't have their reports published anymore?

Tests were at an average of 1.8mcg per serving - one serving is two scoops, 400 kcal. CR claims at 6.3mcg per serving. After consideration, this could be because chocolate tends to be higher in lead content.

Huel black edition is NSF certified - so this means its under the 10mcg/day.

Reassurance from Huel refers to natural occurrence of trace amounts of lead in most foods grown in soil, spinach, oats, etc. Therefore higher amounts in plant based diets naturally.

Tapioca is mentioned to be a large source of lead. Mentioned here.

Reddit post here.

Chocolate

• 0.3mg (not mcg) per kg - so a 10g serving is about 3mcg a day
• FDA recommend 22mcg/day for kids and 88mcg/day for adults
  • BLL (Blood lead level) would reach 3.5 mcg/dL - current reference level at which health concerns arise
  • As that is concerning, FDA set the limit at 1/10th of that hence the 2.2 mcg, and the 8.8 mcg for adults. 

Sourced from Lead Aware UK here.

Lead levels in Fruit and Veg

Study done in the South West of UK here. I used ChatGPT to create this table.

| Produce          | µg Pb / 100 g |
| ---------------- | ------------- |
| Broccoli         | 0.43          |
| Brussels sprouts | 0.40          |
| Cabbage          | 0.87          |
| Cauliflower      | 0.44          |
| Romanesque       | 0.57          |
| Chard            | 5.92          |
| Greens           | 1.66          |
| Kale             | 1.19          |
| Lettuce          | 2.70          |
| Salad mix        | 11.55         |
| Spinach          | 7.98          |
| Broad beans      | 0.40          |
| Peas             | 0.40          |
| Edible pods      | 0.47          |
| Beetroot         | 3.37          |
| Carrot           | 2.33          |
| Parsnip          | 1.87          |
| Potato           | 0.50          |
| Swede            | 0.40          |
| Courgette        | 0.52          |
| Cucumber         | 0.40          |
| Squash           | 0.40          |
| Asparagus        | 0.52          |
| Leek             | 0.55          |
| Onion            | 0.40          |
| Peppers          | 0.62          |
| Rhubarb          | 5.37          |
| Tomato           | 0.40          |
| Apple            | 2.33          |
| Currants         | 0.53          |
| Gooseberries     | 2.50          |
| Raspberries      | 0.47          |
| Strawberries     | 2.72          |

In comparison to this, Huel seems okay? Also I left this table in Markdown - but if it is too hard to read, let me know and I will adjust it.

Conclusion

I am leaning towards Huel is okay, but I think I will follow @Hugh P 's  advice which he talks about here and switch away from the Chocolate flavours  However I would like to get my blood tested (for peace of mind as a lot of people are actually fine), and await the reports Huel said they would publish (see here).  Mark from Huel published this. 

Further conclusions:

Huel has now published their NSF report. Interestingly, the link they linked at the end of the report doesn't actually work. But it confirms what they said before. They also published their take on what Consumer Reports said about Prop 65 here. It's possible I've missed something, but I don't see anything saying how Huel got these results, but maybe I should look into how NSF carry out their studies.

Sorry this post was super rushed, any feedback or additional knowledge would be appreciated. I may come back and edit this post as well once I have more time.