Author: Alex Hamlin (Nutritionist)
All around the world, the shelves are flooded with protein powders – whey, soy, pea, insect, you name it, it's available. So, what makes our Clean Lean Protein so unique in a sea of worthy competitors?
It’s as much to do with what we leave out of the product as it is what we put in. From seedling to shop floor, we use the cleanest growing and manufacturing methods available to produce a unique, high-quality plant protein that is suitable for everyone.
It starts with the peas and where they are grown.
Clean Lean Protein is made from the highest quality European Golden Pea (Pisum sativum). The growing of the peas is contracted to farmers primarily in Northern France, an area known for their quality soils, clean environment and sustainable practices, before being processed in Belgium by Cosucra.
Cosucra is a private family business regarded as the world leaders in pea protein isolation and renowned for their low carbon footprint and 100% sustainable processing facility. The seeds are provided to the farmers by Cosucra to assure premium quality. There are strict rules and regulations in place around farming practices in France to minimize the risk or cross contamination with pollutants and to avoid the use of common herbicides, pesticides and artificial fertilizers.
Peas are classified as a sustainable crop as they use less land and water than alternatives and add vital nutrients like nitrogen back into the soil. Cosucra transports the peas from Northern France by waterways to Belgium for processing, further reducing their carbon footprint and environmental impact.
The isolation process.
Typical pea protein isolation processes involve high temperatures and chemicals that can destroy the nutrient profile of the peas and denature the protein. Cosucra does not use any solvents, chemicals or high temperatures in their isolation process. The nutrients are extracted from the peas in their state-of-the-art facilities via a gentle water-based extraction process.
This patented extraction process ensures the removal of anti-nutrients like phytic acid, lectins and trypsin inhibitors, making the resulting protein highly available and digestible for the consumer. In addition, this process increases the protein content and availability from the peas in a similar way to processes such as sprouting and fermenting, but more effectively.
After the isolation process is complete, Cosucra purifies and recycles the water used and turns all remaining pea material into biofuel and animal feed.
What we’re left with is a high quality and high protein powder that smells neutral, mixes well into liquid and easy to flavour.
The quality and nature of the finished product.
Clean Lean Protein is renowned for its quality, taste, smooth texture and minimal ingredients.
We can also guarantee that the product is entirely clean and free of contaminants.
Through independent laboratory testing, Clean Lean Protein is certified gluten, soy and dairy free as well as being free from Genetically Modified Ingredients (GMOs). There are no other common allergens present in any of the ingredients used and the finished products are regularly tested for herbicides and pesticides, and to ensure naturally occurring heavy metals are well within safe limits. Clean Lean Protein is also free from fillers, gums, preservatives, processing aids and masking agents that are commonly used in blending protein powders.
From a consumer perspective, Clean Lean Protein is not certified organic. This is because we currently cannot guarantee the supply chain of organically certified protein that matches the quality that Cosucra supplies - that being a high purity isolate that contains almost 90% pure protein. Furthermore, there is no need for a pea protein isolate to be organic as it is a processed ingredient. Consumers choose organic products for the nutrients in the soil and to avoid harmful herbicides and pesticides. The pea protein isolation process is simply pulling out the amino acids from the peas, with a by-product of beneficial fibre.
Made from the highest quality European golden peas, Clean Lean Protein consistently outperforms in quality and taste comparisons with other plant proteins on the market and is truly the environmentally friendly choice.
