Quality1 min readLabel reading
Reading a certificate of analysis without a chemistry degree
Six lines on a COA tell you whether a batch is worth buying, whatever layout it arrives in.
First, match the lot
A certificate of analysis reports what a laboratory found in a specific production batch. Every useful thing about it follows from that: it has a lot or batch number, a date, and a scope. The first check is mechanical: compare the lot on the document with the lot printed or stamped on the bottle. A COA for a batch made two years ago says nothing about the one you are holding.
The six lines worth finding
Layouts vary wildly, but the same content is in all of them.
- Lot and date
- Which batch, tested when. Without both, the rest cannot be checked.
- Identity
- Confirmation that the material is what it claims to be, and for a botanical that the species is right.
- Potency / assay
- How much active was found, against the label claim. Expect a stated tolerance rather than an exact match.
- Heavy metals
- Lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, with a limit and a result. Relevant for botanicals, greens and marine ingredients in particular.
- Microbiology
- Total counts plus specific organisms, against limits. Standard for powders and plant material.
- Method and lab
- The analytical method (HPLC, ICP-MS and so on) and who ran it. A result with no method behind it is a number, not a measurement.
Words that look like results
“Lab tested”, “clinically proven” and “pharmaceutical grade” are not defined terms in most markets and can appear on a package with nothing behind them. Certification marks (GMP registration, third-party programme seals, organic certifiers) are checkable, because the body behind them keeps a register you can search.
A supplier who will not name a lab or produce a document for the batch you are buying has told you what you needed to know. DMT does not run a laboratory either. What we can show you is what the manufacturer publishes on the label, which is why the marks on our product pages are read off the label and imply nothing beyond it.
This is about labels, not about you: nothing here is a diagnosis or a dose. Reference intakes quoted are population figures. If you take medication, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are asking because of a symptom, ask a pharmacist or a doctor first.
