Independent analysis on protein supplements

In this article we report the results of an analysis commissioned by My-personaltrainer.it at the University of Ferrara, to determine the protein content of ten milk protein supplements.

The samples were chosen so as to obtain a representative picture of the market, thus examining both Italian and foreign products, more or less known integrators and of different price classes. To avoid interference with the analyzes, only supplements of whey protein (Whey) and / or casein, variously flavored but without the addition of specific amino acids (creatine, etc.) were chosen. Most protein supplements were flavored with vanilla, as they are generally those with a higher protein content than other flavored products (cocoa, hazelnut, banana, etc.).

Protein content analyzes were carried out according to the official Kjeldahl method, deliberately keeping a high tolerance on the measured value (CV% <4). To be fair, we do not include the commercial names of the products, nor the manufacturing companies as:

the sample considers too few products compared to those on the market; consequently, considering also possible conflicts of interest, the publication of commercial names could be understood as an attempt to penalize specific companies over others.

Results of analysis of protein supplements

N °	Protein label value	Protein value detected	Waste %	Price per 100 g of product *	Price per 100 g effective protein **	Origin	Declared raw material
1	69	66.04	- 4.29	€ 4.41	€ 6.67	USA	Concentrated and isolated whey protein, chocolate
2	76	69, 63	- 8.38	€ 3.70	€ 5.31	EU	Whey protein, chocolate / coconut
3	90	86, 05	- 4.39	€ 4.40	€ 5.11	ITA	Soluble calcium caseinate, banana
4	77	72, 25	- 6.17	€ 4.74	€ 6.56	USA	Concentrated and isolated whey protein, vanilla
5	88	81, 64	- 7.23	€ 5.50	€ 6.74	ITA	Ultra-filtered proteins, concentrated proteins, egg white, vanilla
6	88	83, 96	- 4.59	€ 5.40	€ 6.43	USA	Ultramicrofiltered whey protein isolate, vanilla
7	82	79.06	- 3.59	€ 4.57	€ 5.78	USA	Vanilla whey isolate, concentrated, hydrolyzed
8	77	70, 23	- 8.84	€ 4.19	€ 5.97	USA	Vanilla whey isolate, concentrated, hydrolyzed
9	81	75, 42	- 7.00	€ 4.83	€ 6.40	ITA	Instantized whey protein, micro and ultrafiltered whey protein, vanilla
10	> 90%	81.30	> - 9.67	€ 2.10	€ 2.58	GB	Undenatured whey protein, chocolate
* calculated on the basis of the list price and on the net weight declared on the label (ranging from a minimum of 725 to a maximum of 1000 grams in the various protein supplements) ** calculated on the basis of the list price, on the net weight declared on the label and on the protein content emerging from the analyzes Certification

COMMENT: from the data shown in the table it can be seen that all the products analyzed overestimated in the label the real protein content of the product, remaining within the maximum deviation allowed by the Ministry of Health (± 15%). The cheapest product has the largest waste (- 10% approximately); however, even correcting the price for the real protein content, it retains a clear advantage over the others.

There are no substantial differences between Italian products and foreign products, in relation to the difference between the declared protein content and the actual protein content.