A group of consumers have filed a lawsuit against Costco Wholesale Corp., alleging that it failed to disclose the presence of heavy metals in Orgain-brand protein powders.
The suit, filed in federal court in the Western District of Washington on behalf of seven consumers, seeks class-action status. The suit claims that Costco did not disclose the presence or risk of heavy metals in the products either in stores or on its website.
Orgain Organic Protein Powders are widely sold at retail stores throughout the country and have long been known to have small amounts of heavy metals. Earlier this year, Consumer Reports released a study in which it tested 23 different protein powders and found that many contained what its experts said were dangerous levels of lead.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration acknowledges that heavy metals are found naturally in soil and water and may be impossible to avoid completely. However, it has set limits for heavy metals in some foods, including baby formula, which has been the subject of previous lawsuits over the presence of heavy metals.
The latest suit against Costco claims that heavy metals are unsafe at any level.
“Because heavy metals accumulate in the body over time, even very low-level exposure on a regular basis can be hazardous,” the lawsuit states. “This is why the presence of heavy metals is material to reasonable consumers and must be disclosed.”
The suit accuses Costco of marketing the products as “high quality, clean and nutritious” but claims the retailer does not disclose the presence or risk of heavy metals, including lead, cadmium and arsenic.
The suit also states that the products’ packaging does not disclose the presence of heavy metals. The packaging also features the USDA Organic certification label, which the suit claims would lead consumers to associate the product with being free from harmful contaminants.
It was not immediately clear why the lawsuit targeted Costco and the Orgain products specifically.
Neither Costco nor Orgain could be reached for comment.
Costco also has been hit with multiple lawsuits over its wildly popular rotisserie chicken, including at least one claiming that it mislabels the birds as being free from preservatives and another claiming the product poses a risk of salmonella.
