Independent laboratory finding
Nutrela Whey Protein (Patanjali): Citizens Protein Project 1 finding (2024)
Last checked 20 September 2026. A few details are still being checked against the original document.
The Citizens Protein Project 1 (April 2024) measured 73.16 g protein per 100 g in Nutrela Whey Protein (Patanjali) (80.00 g claimed), 9% below label; no FSSAI action is on record as of 20 Sep 2026.
- Classification
- Independent lab test finding: Protein 9% below label (CPP1)
- Tested by
- No regulator action; independent test result (Citizens Protein Project 1, published study)
- Reference
- Citizens Protein Project 1, Medicine 2024;103:14(e37724), doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000037724; Table 1 and Supplementary Document 1
- Latest action
- 5 April 2024
- Last checked
- 20 September 2026details being verified
Photo: Scientist lab by The African Union Mission in Somalia (cc0). All photo credits.
Citizens protein project: a self-funded, transparent, and concerning report on analysis of popular protein supplements sold in the Indian market
No regulator has acted on this finding. It comes from a published study or a private testing company, and the brand may dispute it.
Scope. A record here does not by itself mean a product or company is unsafe or banned today. Regulatory actions can apply to one batch, one formulation, one period or one state. Always check the linked government document for the current position, and tell us if something is out of date. How we label records.
Below: Blacklisted's explanationWe explain what the test or study found. No regulator has acted on it.
Key facts
- Brand
- Patanjali Ayurved (Nutrela)
- Study
- Citizens Protein Project 1, 36 products, published April 2024
- Study code
- Product 11 in Table 1
- Protein on label
- 80.00 g per 100 g (master chart)
- Protein measured
- 73.16 g per 100 g
- Label gap
- 6.8 points (9%) below the label
- Aflatoxin
- Below limit of quantification (1.5 µg/kg)
- Pesticide residue
- Below limit of quantification (0.01 mg/kg)
- Heavy metals
- Cadmium 0.028, lead 0.028 mg/kg; mercury and thallium absent
- Copper
- 11.66 mg/kg
- Herbal ingredients flagged
- 14 herbal extracts including ashwagandha
- Regulator action
- None on record
Nutrela Whey Protein (Patanjali) was product 11 of 36 in the first Citizens Protein Project, a self-funded study published in Medicine in April 2024. The study bought the products in 2023, coded and blinded them, and had an FSSAI-approved laboratory in Kochi run total protein (Kjeldahl), aflatoxin, pesticide residue, heavy metals and steroid screens. The label figure comes from the study's master chart (Supplementary Document 1) and Figure S1; the measured figures are from Table 1 of the paper. The laboratory found 73.16 g protein per 100 g against 80.00 g claimed, 6.8 points or about 9% short. The paper also flagged its ingredient list of 14 herbal extracts including ashwagandha, which it links to liver injury reports. Cadmium and lead were each detected at 0.028 mg/kg and copper at 11.66 mg/kg, one of the higher copper readings.
The study reports differences as percentage points of protein per 100 g. It tested one batch of each product and did not compare metal readings with FSSAI limits. No FSSAI action on this product is on record.
What this means for you
A label gap, not a safety finding
The laboratory found 6.8 points (9%) below the label. Nothing in the contaminant panels breached a stated limit. The concern is the accuracy of the protein number on the pack.
The herbs, not the protein, are the flag
The paper lists 14 herbal extracts including ashwagandha among ingredients with published links to liver injury. That is a formulation concern raised by the authors, not an FSSAI finding.
Trace metals were reported without a limit check
The laboratory reported cadmium 0.028, lead 0.028 mg/kg and copper 11.66 mg/kg. The paper did not compare these with FSSAI limits for foods, so a detection here is a data point, not a finding of violation.
One batch, one study
This is independent, self-funded laboratory work on a single batch bought in 2023. It is not an FSSAI finding and FSSAI has taken no action on this product.
This is a record of official orders, not medical advice. Do not stop a prescribed medicine without asking your doctor or pharmacist.
Official sources and primary records
- Citizens protein project: a self-funded, transparent, and concerning report on analysis of popular protein supplements sold in the Indian marketStudyMedicine (Wolters Kluwer) · 5 April 2024
- Study
- Citizens Protein Project, Supplementary Document 1 (master chart: products, labels, declared protein)StudyMedicine (Wolters Kluwer)
- Citizens Protein Project, Figure S1 (labelled versus detected protein by product)StudyMedicine (Wolters Kluwer)