Testing · Field notes
Glyphosate in protein powder: what we tested, and what we found
Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide on earth, and it turns up in more plant proteins than labels admit. Here is how we measure our single-ingredient Chocho for it, and the results that came back from the laboratory.
The short version
- Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide in the world, and independent testing has repeatedly found residues in plant protein powders.
- The proteins flagged most often are legumes such as pea and chickpea, some of which are dried in the field with glyphosate before harvest.
- Glyphosate needs a dedicated test, LC-MS/MS. The standard multi-residue pesticide panels used across much of the industry usually miss it.
- Mikuna's single-ingredient Chocho is tested for glyphosate by LC-MS/MS. The most recent result was non-detect, below 0.01 mg/kg.
- Chocho grows at roughly 11,000 feet in the Ecuadorian Andes and is hand-harvested by Indigenous Kichwa communities.
Glyphosate is sprayed across millions of acres each year. On some crops it is applied a second time, just before harvest, to dry the plant down faster and speed up the combine. That last step is the one worth knowing about if you eat plant protein, because the residue can travel from the field into the powder. We wanted to know exactly where our Chocho stood, so we sent it to an independent laboratory and measured it. Here is what the test involves, why most proteins skip it, and what we found.
What glyphosate is, and why it ends up in protein
Glyphosate is a broad-spectrum systemic herbicide, the active ingredient in many common weedkillers. Most of the conversation around it concerns how it is used in the field. The part that reaches the kitchen is pre-harvest desiccation, the practice of spraying a crop shortly before harvest to kill and dry it evenly. When that crop is a food, a portion of the residue can remain in what is eventually milled, pressed, or processed into an ingredient.
This is why plant proteins receive particular attention. Independent residue programs, including The Detox Project and the consumer testing group Mamavation, have reported that some plant protein powders carry glyphosate, with legume-based proteins among the categories drawing the most scrutiny. Pea protein and chickpea come up often, both legumes, both sometimes dried with glyphosate before harvest. These are generalizations about farming practice, not claims about any one brand. The only way to know a specific product is to look at whether, and how, it was tested.
Why the finished protein is worth testing, not only the crop
There is a quieter reason the protein itself deserves a look. Glyphosate works by blocking the shikimate pathway, the biochemical route a plant uses to build its aromatic amino acids. Mammals do not have this pathway, which is part of the original argument for the chemical. But in a protein crop, that same pathway contributes to assembling the plant's proteins. The chemistry that the herbicide targets and the chemistry that builds the protein are linked, which is why a residue question is best answered by measuring the finished ingredient, not only the field.
How protein is actually tested for glyphosate
Here is the detail that most labels leave out. Glyphosate does not show up on a standard pesticide screen. It is a small, water-loving molecule, and the multi-residue panels that most of the industry runs, based on gas chromatography, are not designed to capture it. A protein can pass a general pesticide screen with flying colors and never have been tested for glyphosate at all.
Measuring it takes a dedicated method called LC-MS/MS, liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry, tuned specifically for glyphosate. A credible result does two things: it names that method, and it states a limit of quantification, the lowest concentration the laboratory can reliably measure. Anything beneath that threshold is reported as non-detect, or below LOQ. It is not reported as zero, because no test can prove the complete absence of a substance. This is also why a careful brand will not call a protein glyphosate free. The accurate language is non-detect at a stated limit, and it happens to be the more honest claim.
What we found in Chocho
Our Chocho is tested at Eurofins, one of the largest food and nutrition testing networks in the world. On our most recent Certificate of Analysis, glyphosate was measured by LC-MS/MS and came back below the laboratory's limit of quantification. The broader pesticide screens, run by both gas and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry, also returned non-detect at their limits of quantification.
Latest results · Chocho
Below 0.01 mg/kg is the same as below ten parts per billion. We report it the way the laboratory does, as a measurement against a limit, and we publish the underlying reports. You can read them at mikunafoods.com/testresults.
Where Chocho comes from
Chocho, also called tarwi or Andean lupin, has been cultivated in the high Andes for thousands of years. Mikuna's Chocho grows at roughly 11,000 feet near Cayambe, in volcanic soil, and is hand-harvested by Indigenous Kichwa farming communities who have stewarded the crop for generations. It is a hardy, nitrogen-fixing plant that gives back to the soil it grows in, and it asks little of the land beyond altitude and patience. Our protein is made from Chocho and nothing else: a single ingredient that provides all nine essential amino acids, which is rare for one plant source.
How to choose a clean plant protein
If you want to judge a protein for yourself, a few questions cut through the marketing quickly.
- Look for a glyphosate test by name. A general "third-party tested" or "lab tested" label does not mean glyphosate was measured. Look for LC-MS/MS specifically.
- Check for a stated limit of quantification. A real result tells you the threshold and reports non-detect or below LOQ, rather than simply saying it passed.
- Favor fewer ingredients. Every added input is another possible residue pathway. A single-ingredient protein is simpler to verify.
- Be wary of absolutes. Words like clean, pure, or free are marketing unless a method and a number sit behind them.
- Ask to see the Certificate of Analysis. A brand that tests should be willing to show the lab report, lot by lot.
Frequently asked questions
Does Chocho protein contain glyphosate?
Chocho, the Andean legume that Mikuna's protein is made from, is tested for glyphosate by LC-MS/MS. On our most recent Certificate of Analysis the result was non-detect, below 0.01 mg/kg, which is the laboratory's limit of quantification. We publish the underlying reports so you can read them directly.
Is Mikuna's Chocho glyphosate-free?
We do not use the word free, because no laboratory test can prove the complete absence of a substance. The accurate description is non-detect, below 0.01 mg/kg by LC-MS/MS, which is what our most recent result showed.
How is Chocho tested for glyphosate?
Our Chocho is tested at Eurofins, one of the largest food testing networks in the world, using LC-MS/MS, the method designed specifically for glyphosate. The result is reported against a stated limit of quantification and read by mass spectrometry, rather than estimated.
Why don't standard pesticide tests detect glyphosate?
Glyphosate is a small, water-loving molecule that the standard multi-residue pesticide panels used across much of the industry, based on gas chromatography, are not designed to capture. A protein can pass a general pesticide screen and never have been tested for glyphosate at all. Detecting it requires a dedicated LC-MS/MS method.
What does non-detect or below LOQ mean for glyphosate?
The limit of quantification, or LOQ, is the lowest concentration the laboratory can reliably measure. A glyphosate result reported as non-detect, or below LOQ, means none was found above that threshold. It is the accurate way to describe a clean result, and it is more honest than claiming zero.
Is Chocho exposed to glyphosate where it is grown?
Chocho is hand-harvested by Indigenous Kichwa communities in the Ecuadorian Andes rather than dried in the field with a chemical desiccant, which is the practice that drives glyphosate residues in some commodity legumes. We test the finished ingredient by LC-MS/MS to confirm what that practice implies.
Where can I see Mikuna's glyphosate test results?
We publish our Certificates of Analysis at mikunafoods.com/testresults, including the glyphosate result and the broader pesticide screens, with the methods and limits of quantification stated.
Is glyphosate in protein powder harmful?
Glyphosate remains the subject of ongoing scientific review, regulation, and litigation, and views on it differ. We take no position beyond a narrow one: our job is to measure it accurately in our Chocho and disclose the result so you can decide for yourself.
Sources and further reading: independent residue testing by The Detox Project and Mamavation; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency materials on glyphosate; agricultural extension guidance on pre-harvest desiccation; and Mikuna's Eurofins Certificates of Analysis, published at mikunafoods.com/testresults. This article is educational and is not medical advice.
