Simply Tera’s Organic Whey Protein (Plain, Unsweetened)

1. Ingredients 35% of the rating 4 of 5

   Two ingredients, organic whey protein concentrate and organic sunflower lecithin; nothing sweet, flavored or artificial.

2. Independent testing 35% of the rating 4 of 5

   An independent, crowd-funded lab test found lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic not detected in one lot, but it is one lot and the maker posts no reports.

3. Sourcing 10% of the rating 4 of 5

   USDA Organic seal and small Midwest family farms are stated; the pack and FAQ name different certifiers and we could not check either.

4. Trust 10% of the rating 4 of 5

   No Prop 65 notice, warning letter or recall found, and its FAQ answers pasteurization and testing questions, but the certifier it names is unclear.

5. Value 10% of the rating 1 of 5

   $3.97 for 25 g of protein, the highest of the powders we reviewed.

The rating, 3.7 of 5, is the weighted average of these scores. See how we rank protein powders & shakes and our standard.

• Thrive Market (opens in a new tab) approx. $32 (member price; Thrive Market charges a $60 annual membership). Listed as simply tera’s Organic Plain Whey Protein Powder, 12 oz tub, with the same product code (850628002586) as the maker’s page. The page said “Running Low” on 2026-10-23.
• Walmart (opens in a new tab) approx. $34. The organic plain unsweetened 12 oz tub (UPC 850628002586), but not sold by Simply Tera’s: the seller is a third-party, EDIM Market, fulfilled by Walmart. Seen 2026-10-23.
• iHerb (opens in a new tab) approx. $41. Lists this exact tub at $40.95, but it was out of stock on 2026-10-23, with no restock date because of supplier delays. Simply Tera’s names iHerb as a retailer.
• Vitacost (opens in a new tab) approx. $41. Lists this exact tub (UPC 850628002586) at $40.95, but it was marked “Temporarily unavailable” on 2026-10-23. Simply Tera’s names Vitacost as a retailer.

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

1. Organic whey protein concentrate
2. Organic sunflower lecithin

• Independent Lead Safe Mama, lab: Purity Laboratories (crowd-funded; the group earns affiliate income and donations) October 2025

  Lot 2025-232 of the plain organic whey, sample anonymized by Lead Safe Mama and tested by ICP-MS on Oct. 23, 2025: lead under 5 ppb, cadmium under 5 ppb, mercury under 5 ppb, arsenic under 10 ppb. Lead Safe Mama says it is the first protein powder it has found clean for all four metals. A GoFundMe campaign paid for the test. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)

• Maker’s own test Simply Tera’s own statement

  Says it tests its products quarterly with an independent lab and each batch in house, and that it typically finds no detectable heavy metals. It names no lab and posts no reports. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Is one clean lab result enough?

It is a good sign, not proof for every lot. Lead Safe Mama’s report (opens in a new tab) covers one lot with detection limits of 5 to 10 ppb, and the group says it retests listed products periodically. Simply Tera’s says it tests quarterly with an outside lab but posts no results.

Is Lead Safe Mama independent?

It took no money from Simply Tera’s for this test, which community members funded through GoFundMe. The group earns Amazon affiliate income and Patreon donations, and it sends labs samples with anonymized descriptions to avoid bias.

Who certifies it organic?

The pack says certified organic by QAI and shows the USDA Organic seal. The FAQ (opens in a new tab) names MOSA as its certifying agency. We could not check either in the USDA Organic Integrity database.

Is it raw or pasteurized?

Pasteurized. The FAQ says the cheese makers pasteurize the milk, as the FDA requires for whey protein concentrate, at the lowest temperature possible, and the whey is cold-filtered and spray-dried.

Why is it so expensive?

About $3.97 for 25 g of protein, about three times the cheapest powder here. Simply Tera’s non-organic “pure” plain whey is $29.99, $10 less. You are paying for organic farming and a small canister.

• The label is two ingredients, organic whey protein concentrate and organic sunflower lecithin, with 21 g of protein, 1 g of sugar and no added sugar in a 28 g serving. It is unsweetened and unflavored.
• Lead Safe Mama had one lot (2025-232) tested at Purity Laboratories in October 2025 and reported lead, cadmium and mercury each under 5 ppb and arsenic under 10 ppb. It was the first protein powder the group had found clean for all four metals. Crowd-funding paid for the test, not Simply Tera’s.
• The pack carries a USDA Organic seal and says the cows graze on organic grass and feed. The FAQ says the whey comes from small family farms in the Midwest and that the cows are never given growth hormones or antibiotics.
• Its FAQ says plainly that the whey is pasteurized, as the FDA requires, and that it is cold-filtered and dried in a spray dryer. It does not use “raw” as a selling point.
• No California Prop 65 notice, FDA warning letter or recall names the product or the brand (searched 2026-10-23).

• It is the most expensive powder we reviewed: $39.99 for 12 servings is about $3.33 a serving, or $3.97 for 25 g of protein.
• One lot has been tested independently, with a detection limit of 5 ppb for lead. At that limit a 28 g serving holds under about 0.14 µg of lead (our arithmetic), below Consumer Reports’ 0.5 µg level of concern, but a lot-to-lot result needs more tests. Simply Tera’s posts no lot reports; its FAQ says it tests quarterly with an outside lab and each batch in house.
• The organic certifier is unclear. The pack says certified organic by QAI, and the FAQ names MOSA. We could not open the USDA Organic Integrity database to check either.
• “Pasture-raised for as long as the grazing season allows” is the maker’s wording. There is no separate grass-fed certifier. A concentrate has more lactose than an isolate.
• The brand is part of Carrington Farms, whose flax seed drew a 2023 Prop 65 cadmium notice. It is a different product and company line.

Third-party tested

Yes

Tested by

Purity Laboratories, for Lead Safe Mama (crowd-funded)

1. Simply Tera’s Organic Whey Protein, Plain Unsweetened: product page. Maker’s page. $39.99, seen 2026-10-23. Two ingredients, organic, cold-pressed claims. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
2. Simply Tera’s organic plain whey: back label (nutrition facts and ingredients). Maker’s page. About 12 servings of 28 g, 21 g protein. Ingredients: organic whey protein concentrate, organic sunflower lecithin. Certified organic by QAI. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
3. Simply Tera’s FAQ. Maker’s page. Sourcing, pasteurization, organic certifier (MOSA) and testing statements. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
4. Lead Safe Mama: Testing Simply Tera’s Organic Whey Protein for Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, and Arsenic. Test report. Posted 25 October 2025. Says a GoFundMe campaign paid for the test. The group earns Amazon affiliate income. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
5. Purity Laboratories report for Simply Tera’s whey (case 2510405). Test report. ICP-MS; received 10/21/2025, tested 10/23/2025, completed 10/24/2025. Lead, cadmium and mercury under 5 ppb; arsenic under 10 ppb. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
6. Consumer Reports: Protein Powders and Shakes Contain High Levels of Lead. Test report. Source for the 0.5 µg a day level of concern for lead. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
7. California Attorney General: 60-day notice search for “Carrington Farms”. Certifier or regulator listing. One notice (AG 2023-00581, cadmium in organic milled flax seeds). No notice names Simply Tera’s. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)

• Puori PW1 Grass-Fed Whey (unflavored) One ingredient, with per-batch reports showing no detectable lead from a lab paid through Clean Label Project. About $2.74 for 25 g of protein.
• Transparent Labs Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate (unflavored) NSF-listed, with lot reports from the maker. About $1.79 for 25 g of protein at 4 lb.

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• Lead in Spices, Cookware, and Food Article Which spices, cookware, pottery and foods can contain lead, why no level is safe, how to spot high-risk items, and when to test blood lead.