Heart & Soil Grass-Fed Whey Protein (Unflavored)

1. Ingredients 35% of the rating 5 of 5

   One ingredient, whey protein concentrate: no lecithin, gum, flavor or sweetener.

2. Independent testing 35% of the rating 2 of 5

   An NSF listing, but no heavy-metal figures are posted, NSF’s lead limit is loose, and nothing we found covers PFAS.

3. Sourcing 10% of the rating 3 of 5

   Australian cattle are named and the whey is called cold-processed, but no farm, certifier or audit is shown.

4. Trust 10% of the rating 2 of 5

   Its page carries a California PFOS and PFNA warning, a 2026 lead notice names its Bone Matrix, and its founder is a diet author who promotes it.

5. Value 10% of the rating 3 of 5

   $2.36 for 25 g of protein, in the middle of the powders we reviewed.

The rating, 3.3 of 5, is the weighted average of these scores. See how we rank protein powders & shakes and our standard.

• Amazon (opens in a new tab) approx. $73. Listed as 2 lbs (900 g, unflavored), sold by Heart & Soil, LLC (the brand) and shipped by Amazon. Seen 2026-10-23.

Prices as we saw them on October 23, 2026. They change often. These links carry no tracking code and earn us nothing.

1. Whey protein concentrate (100% grass-fed cattle)

• Paid certification NSF Certified for Sport

  Lists the unflavored powder (id 1721676; 900 g, 24 g protein, 11 lots) and marks it free of GMOs, gluten, soy, rBGH, and artificial colors, flavors, preservatives and sweeteners. NSF’s program checks banned substances, label accuracy and contaminants against its own limits. We found nothing showing it covers PFAS. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)

• Maker’s own test Heart & Soil’s own statements (product page and FAQ)

  Says the whey is independently tested for heavy metals, pesticides and impurities. Its certificate list covers the gelatin capsules and 15 other products, not the whey, and no result for the whey is posted. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Why does the whey page show a PFAS warning?

The page shows California visitors a Prop 65 warning for PFOS and PFNA. Its text copies the consent judgment (opens in a new tab) over Heart & Soil’s Pure American Liver capsules, which requires that warning on any product with a quantifiable level of those chemicals. It may be a blanket notice. No Attorney General notice (opens in a new tab) names the whey, and we could not tell whether the warning applies to it.

Where are the heavy-metal and PFAS numbers?

Heart & Soil says the whey is independently tested and lists certificates (opens in a new tab) for 15 other products, not this one. We asked for lot-level lead and PFAS results and are waiting.

Is the founder paid to promote it?

Dr. Paul Saladino, author of The Carnivore Code, is the founder (opens in a new tab), so his praise is not independent. We found no affiliate page on its site, only a refer-a-friend offer (opens in a new tab). One organic-living blogger lists it with a 10% code and says purchases through her links support her work (opens in a new tab).

Is it really better than other whey because it is made from milk, not cheese?

A podcast episode description (opens in a new tab) from the host of a rival whey brand says the founder has made that claim and that the host found it unexplained. The product page says only that the whey is cold-processed in one low-temperature step. We found no data to compare processing, and the episode says the milk is from New Zealand while the page says Australia.

Is a concentrate a problem?

It has more lactose than an isolate, which matters if milk sugar bothers you. The label shows 1 g of sugar per 30 g serving.

• NSF’s Certified for Sport database lists the unflavored powder (id 1721676; 900 g, two scoops of 30 g, 24 g protein, 11 lots). The listing marks it free of GMOs, gluten, soy, rBGH growth hormones, artificial colors, flavors, preservatives and sweeteners.
• The label is one ingredient, whey protein concentrate from grass-fed cattle. NSF’s listing gives 24 g of protein, 110 calories and 1 g of sugar per 30 g serving, and Heart & Soil says there are no added hormones, fillers, gums or lecithins.
• At $68 for 30 servings it costs about $2.27 a serving, or $2.36 for 25 g of protein. A subscription is $61.20, and Amazon sells the same bag for about $73.

• We have no heavy-metal or PFAS numbers. Heart & Soil says the whey is independently tested for heavy metals, pesticides and impurities but posts no results, and its certificate list names 15 other products, not the whey. NSF’s lead limit, 10 µg a day as Consumer Reports describes it, is far looser than CR’s 0.5 µg.
• A PFAS warning appears on its pages. Heart & Soil shows California visitors a Prop 65 warning for PFOS and PFNA on the whey page, and the same block is in the code of nine supplement pages we opened on 2026-10-23, including Bone Matrix and colostrum. Its wording matches, bracket for bracket, the warning in the settlement over its Pure American Liver capsules (court judgment entered 2026-08-13), which bars it from selling in California any product with a quantifiable level of PFOS and PFNA unless it carries that warning. That points to a blanket notice, not a PFAS finding in the whey, but we cannot tell which. No Attorney General notice names the whey.
• “100% grass-fed Australian cows” and “cold-processed” are the maker’s words. No certifier or farm is named, and the page does not say whether the milk is pasteurized.
• Its founder, Dr. Paul Saladino, is a carnivore-diet author, so his praise is not independent. Bloggers list the brand with discount codes, and its own site offers a refer-a-friend deal (give 20%, get 20%).
• A concentrate carries more lactose than an isolate. We reviewed only the unflavored powder; the Chocolate Sea Salt version has 12 g of sugar per 43 g serving.

Third-party tested

Yes

Tested by

NSF Certified for Sport

1. Heart & Soil Grass-Fed Whey Protein (Unflavored) product page. Maker’s page. Price, size, ingredient and sourcing claims, seen 2026-10-23. Also carries a California-only Prop 65 block naming PFOS and PFNA. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
2. Heart & Soil FAQ: are your products tested for heavy metals, pesticides and microbes?. Maker’s page. Links certificates of analysis for the gelatin capsules and 15 products. None is for the whey. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
3. Heart & Soil: our story. Maker’s page. Names Dr. Paul Saladino as founder. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
4. NSF Certified for Sport listing: Grass-Fed Whey (Unflavored). Certifier or regulator listing. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
5. NSF Certified for Sport listing: Grass-Fed Whey (Chocolate Sea Salt). Certifier or regulator listing. Shows 12 g of sugar per 43 g serving. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
6. NSF Certified for Sport: what the mark means. Independent source. Says the program checks banned substances, label accuracy, unsafe levels of contaminants and the facility. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
7. Heart & Soil Grass Fed Whey Protein Powder, Unflavored, on Amazon. Independent source. Seen 2026-10-23: $73.00, in stock, sold by Heart & Soil, LLC, shipped by Amazon. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
8. Consumer Reports: Protein Powders and Shakes Contain High Levels of Lead. Test report. Source for NSF’s 10 µg a day lead limit and CR’s 0.5 µg level of concern. CR did not test Heart & Soil. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
9. California Attorney General Prop 65 notice 2025-04599 (Heart & Soil Pure American Liver, PFOS and PFNA). Certifier or regulator listing. Settlement reported 2026-06-01; consent judgment entered 2026-08-13. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
10. Consent judgment, Environmental Research Center v. Heart & Soil Supplements (case 26CV165738). Certifier or regulator listing. Section 3.1 covers any product with quantifiable PFOS and PFNA, and section 3.2 sets the warning wording. The covered product is the liver capsules. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
11. California Attorney General: 60-day notice search for “Heart & Soil”. Certifier or regulator listing. Three notices on 2026-10-23: Bone Matrix (lead) and Pure American Liver (PFAS, two notices). None names the whey. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
12. Heart & Soil: refer a friend. Maker’s page. Its customer referral offer (give 20%, get 20%). We found no affiliate or ambassador page on its site. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
13. Pretty Organic Girl: organic protein powder list. Independent source. A blogger lists Heart & Soil and Puori with discount codes and says purchases through her links support her research. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
14. Podcast episode description: Brad reacts to Paul Saladino’s whey protein claims. Independent source. A secondary source, undated, from a host who sells a competing whey. It says the founder claims the whey is made from milk, not cheese, and credits New Zealand sourcing. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)

• Transparent Labs Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate (unflavored) NSF-listed, with lot-level lead reports posted by the maker. About $1.79 for 25 g of protein at 4 lb.
• Puori PW1 Grass-Fed Whey (unflavored) One ingredient too, and per-batch reports showing no detectable lead, from a lab paid through Clean Label Project. About $2.74 for 25 g of protein.
• Levels Grass-Fed Whey (unflavored) A similar concentrate with a Clean Label Project certificate instead of NSF. About $2.07 for 25 g of protein at 2 lb.

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