Costco class action alleges heavy metals in protein powder

Stephen Barton of Washington state and six other consumers filed a class action lawsuit against Costco Wholesale Corp. on July 7, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, alleging the retailer sold Orgain organic protein powder tainted with lead, cadmium and arsenic while marketing it as "good, clean nutrition."

The other plaintiffs live in California, Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio and Texas, and all claim they bought Orgain vanilla bean or creamy chocolate fudge powder for roughly $27 to $39 per container.

What laboratory testing reportedly found

Plaintiff Randall Hartwright and the plaintiffs' attorneys arranged laboratory testing that detected heavy metals across multiple Orgain product lots, Costco locations and flavors, the proposed class action claims. Independent accredited lab Microbac Laboratories corroborated the results.

The samples reportedly contained:

• Lead at up to 67 parts per billion in vanilla bean and 46 parts per billion in creamy chocolate fudge
• Cadmium at up to 70.3 parts per billion present in every sample tested
• Arsenic at up to 18 parts per billion

The highest lead result, 3.37 micrograms per serving, exceeds the daily lead limit under California's Proposition 65, a state law limiting exposure to chemicals tied to cancer and reproductive harm, by approximately 674%, the lawsuit alleges

The complaint also cites a January 2025 Clean Label Project report that found 47% of 160 protein powders tested were over Proposition 65 heavy metal limits and an October 2025 Consumer Reports investigation measuring the Orgain Vanilla Bean powder at 143% of its level of concern for lead per serving with a cap of four 3/4 servings per week.

The "clean" marketing claims at issue

Costco sells the powders at its roughly 600 U.S. warehouses and online. The packaging and online product pages reportedly promote "cleaner ingredients," "higher standards" and "the power of clean" but never mention heavy metals, the lawsuit claims.

Each plaintiff says they relied on those claims and would not have bought the powder, or would have paid less, had Costco disclosed the risk. Competing powders with no detectable heavy metals sold for as little as $0.65 per ounce versus $0.79 to $0.80 for Orgain, the proposed class action alleges.

The Food and Drug Administration reportedly does not review protein powders before sale and or set heavy metal limits for supplements, leaving consumers dependent on what sellers disclose, the lawsuit contends.

The legal claims

The lawsuit brings 12 counts against Costco:

• Washington Consumer Protection Act, which bars unfair or deceptive business practices
• California's Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law and Consumers Legal Remedies Act, which prohibit deceptive marketing
• Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Act, which bars concealing material facts in a sale
• Four Minnesota consumer statutes, which cover unlawful and deceptive trade practices, false advertising and consumer fraud
• Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act, which bans claiming goods have qualities they lack
• Texas Deceptive Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act, which covers false or misleading trade conduct
• Fraudulent concealment, which claims a seller withheld facts buyers had a right to know

What the lawsuit means for Costco shoppers

The proposed nationwide class covers anyone who bought either flavor from a Costco warehouse or Costco.com for household use plus subclasses for the six plaintiffs' states. The complaint alleges heavy metals are present in purchases from 2019 to June 2026.

The lawsuit seeks refunds, tripled damages where state law allows, punitive damages and an order requiring Costco to disclose heavy metal levels or stop selling the products without a warning.

There is no settlement, no claims process and no money available at this time. Costco had not answered the complaint as of the July 7 filing. The case is pending in federal court in Seattle.