February 27, 2026 Lennox Vellekoop

Creatine Monohydrate Heavy Metal Testing: How We Guarantee a Clean, Pure Supplement

What we test, why we test, and what the results mean

Following our recent article regarding the independent third-party heavy metal testing of our Nothing Naughty protein and collagen powders, we’ve also undertaken testing of our Creatine Monohydrate.

Creatine is one of the most researched sports supplements in the world and as with any supplement, safety, purity and compliance matter.

At Nothing Naughty, our approach with creatine is to independently third-party test batches, ensure our suppliers have the relevant certification (for creatine this is FSSC 2200 certification), meet food safety standards, and share the results openly.

The below firstly outlines exactly how heavy metals are regulated in New Zealand and Australia, what we test for, and how our Nothing Naughty Creatine Monohydrate stacks up against these Standards.

New Zealand and Australia food requirements

In New Zealand heavy metals in food are regulated under the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (FSC) (Food Standards Code | Food Standards Australia New Zealand). This is through:

Standard 1.4.1 – Contaminants and Natural Toxicants, setting Maximum Levels (MLs); and
Schedule 19 - Maximum levels of contaminants and natural toxicants

These standards set limits where there is a potential risk to public health and safety if exceeded. They also require that food must be safe and suitable for human consumption, and that contaminant levels are kept as low as reasonably achievable. Note: 1 mg/kg = 1 ppm.

The closest relevant FSC limits for the heavy metals typically tested in supplements are:

Arsenic
Cereal grains and milled cereal products	1 mg/kg
Salt	0.5 mg/kg
Cadmium
Rice and Wheat	0.1 mg/kg
Salt	0.5 mg/kg
Lead
Cereals, pulses and legumes	0.2 mg/kg
Fruit	0.1 mg/kg
Vegetables (except brassicas)	0.1 mg/kg
Mercury
Salt	0.1 mg/kg
Fish (other fish, fish products), crustacea and molluscs (mean)	0.5 mg/kg

While creatine monohydrate is not specifically listed in the FSC categories above, these provide the closest reference points for comparison.

Nothing Naughty Creatine Monohydrate - sourcing and testing

Nothing Naughty sources creatine monohydrate from production that is FSSC 22000 certified. FSSC 22000 certification covers food safety management systems and manufacturing processes.

We receive a certificate of analysis (COA) on every batch we receive. This includes testing for:

creatine purity (given as a percentage)
creatinine
heavy metals (Lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium)
micro (APC, yeast & mould, E.coli, Salmonella and S.aureus)

In addition to supplier testing, we commission independent third-party laboratory testing to test for our creatine purity and for the presence of heavy metals.

To do this we have used:

BeaconPoint Labs (USA) — for creatine purity and creating and heavy metal testing
Eurofins NZ — for heavy metal testing

Creatine purity testing outcomes:

Our Nothing Naughty Creatine Monohydrate product is 100% pure creatine monohydrate and free from contaminants. The below results from BeaconPoint Labs (USA) measure the purity of our Creatine Monohydrate and show a Creatine read as 100.43%.

Creatine heavy metal testing outcomes:

The third-party testing of creatine for heavy metals results are listed below, and they are consistent with the supplier’s results.

Element	Supplier testing	NN third party testing		FSC reference (from above)
		BeaconPoint	Eurofins NZ
Arsenic	<0.1 mg/kg	<0.002 mg/kg	<0.05 mg/kg	0.5 mg/kg (Salt)
Cadmium	<0.1 mg/kg	<0.002 mg/kg	<0.002 mg/kg	0.1 mg/kg (Rice and Wheat)
Lead	<0.1 mg/kg	<0.002 mg/kg	0.01 mg/kg	0.2 mg/kg (Cereals, pulses and legumes)
Mercury	<0.1 mg/kg	0.00058 mg/kg]	<0.002 mg/kg	0.1 mg/kg (Salt)

Our supplier testing and independent third-party testing is all well below the FSC limit.

Water-washing and why it matters?

In addition to the above our Nothing Naughty Creatine Monohydrate is water washed, not chemically washed and that’s an important distinction.

Water washing is a cleaner, more natural purification process. Instead of using harsh chemical solvents to refine the creatine, purified water is used to remove impurities and residual by-products from manufacturing.

Why this benefits you:

1. Fewer residual chemicals
Chemical washing can involve solvents or reagents that must then be removed. While regulated manufacturers control this carefully, water washing reduces the need for additional chemical processing steps altogether.

2. Higher purity, simpler processing
Water washing helps eliminate unwanted manufacturing by-products such as creatinine, dicyandiamide (DCD), and dihydrotriazine (DHT), resulting in a cleaner final product.

3. Gentler on your body
Creatine is something many people take daily. A water-washed process aligns with our philosophy of keeping supplements as simple and clean as possible.

4. Nothing unnecessary added
No solvent residue, just pure creatine monohydrate.

Conclusion:

Our Nothing Naughty Creatine Monohydrate meets Australian and New Zealand Food Safety Standards and is tested to ensure it is safe, pure and suitable for everyday use.

In addition, our Nothing Naughty Creatine Monohydrate is water-washed - a cleaner, more natural purification process.

We are confident with the integrity and purity of our Nothing Naughty Creatine Monohydrate.

Next article Heavy Metals in Protein & Collagen Powders: What We Test and Why It Matters