Protein Powder Testing, Sprout Living/Ora/Vega

[buildingonpurposepg]

Are there any recommendations for an at-home test that would approximate the percentage of protein in a pea protein powder or a lab that I can send the powder in to? I purchased a small amount from Sprout Living, who I chose for exclusively selling vegan-only products, having a claimed 80% protein makeup in an unflavored powder, being sold in stores, and being 32-55% cheaper than Ora or Vega.

I know that I am hugging the hugged horse here, but I have tried searching Reddit and browsing the web for recommendations on testing pea protein powder. I have mainly found results on specific protein powders (typically whey) or testing methods that may be specific to whey but was not specified. I would also accept published 3rd party results for Sprout Living/Ora/Vega. I wanted to do my due diligence before buying a large amount.

As an aside, I receive the majority of my daily non-powder protein from beans for dinner but would rest better knowing that I have not been somewhat relying on protein-less dust.

Any help or suggestions is appreciated.

Edit: Some additional information. I will update if I find out more in case it helps anyone!

Sprout Living has the following in their Q&A:

Q: Are your products third-party tested?

Of course! All of our products are third-party tested.

So I will check with them to see what they can provide as I do not see results on their site.

I also wanted to provide these test results from Ora.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0767/1029/files/COA-SLSC-Unflavored-20-S23262001.pdf?v=1700584313

Ora states that the third-party testers they work with are Eurofins, JK BioScience Analytical Laboratories, American Testing Laboratories, and Venture Laboratories. These quality control test results seem to be from Ora themselves, which is not very useful to me.

As for Vega, they claim to be B-corp certified, noting "B Corp™ certified businesses are legally required to meet stringent safety, environmental and social standards, and we’re proud to count ourselves as one of them. " I am not sure if they assess the protein content of Vega's products.

 

[vartikasinha]

@buildingonpurposepg Is there a reason you are unwilling to trust what it says on the nutrition label?

 

[buildingonpurposepg]

@vartikasinha Yes. Companies have an incentive to use cheaper products or less than they claim to be using to turn a profit. We have regulation because unfortunately trust is not always enough.

Edit: spelling

 

[sabtod69]

@buildingonpurposepg Most companies will send you the lab results if you email them. You just need to give them the batch number on the tub. To be honest, just use a high quality brand like Nuzest. Family owned and from what I know, very well tested.

 

[catalina]

@buildingonpurposepg wanting to know EXACTLY how many grams are coming from where, to me, seems granular and not-entirely useful… there are so many factors contributing to amino acid accessibility for each individual, and what the actual AA needs of that individual are vary drastically…

Diving into the weeds of validating which brand of protein powder has how many amino acids sounds like a miserable way to spend one’s life energy, no offense. What are your goals with this validation? Conscious consumerism? Using it in one of your own nutrition products/services? Science report?

 

[buildingonpurposepg]

@catalina I wanted to reiterate that I only wanted approximate information. Say for example, if I was sold a tub of sand but could not tell the difference- I would spend a large portion of my life being vitamin deficient. Again, it would be 'better' to get the vast majority of my protein from food, but it would also be rather convenient if I found a source that is selling a product that approximates what it claims to be. It is not about the where, but simply verifying that the protein content is anywhere within a reasonable margin of what is claimed by the seller.

Edit: I wanted to add that if I found a seller that is selling what they claim to be selling, that I can at least take solace in knowing that something that I consume every single day and spend quite a bit of money on is a legitimate product. Another way to have my life energy sapped is to be an unfortunate soul who manages to choose a bad actor company and ingest much less protein than I believe I am ingesting for a considerable amount of time.