How CBD Third Party Lab Testing Works and Why It’s Important
Since the CBD industry is currently unregulated, some unethical manufacturers are utilizing it as an opportunity and lying about the CBD content in their products. Even some products may contain contamination like heavy metals, pesticides, toxins, and other harmful substances. This is where CBD third party lab testing is useful.
This is why finding quality CBD products can be challenging even for the most informed consumer.
Reputable CBD manufacturers send a sample of their product to an independent testing company and this company will run its own tests and provide the results.
However, this practice makes CBD manufacturers trustworthy because it’s less likely that a CBD third party testing company would lie on their lab tests. Many of these testing companies have a reputation for providing consistent and accurate testing.
So far, the main purpose of third party lab testing is to provide an impartial analysis of CBD products and to ensure the purity, potency, and quality of a CBD sample.
CBD Third Party Lab Testing: Importance
The entire CBD industry is highly unregulated which makes it easier for companies to lie about their products. Some companies are doing it to make quick money by sourcing poor quality hemp. Other unethical CBD manufacturers are exaggerating their cannabinoid profiles to increase sales.
It can be difficult to differentiate between a manufacturer with strong integrity and an unethical company selling snake oils.
Good manufacturers know that an industry full of frauds isn’t going to help them in the long term. If allowed to carry on, governments may step in and make processes harder for them down the road.
This is why reputable manufacturers use their own money for the CBD third party lab testing. These companies will display the lab test results for each batch publicly. Furthermore, it indicates that you are getting exactly the same thing that is advertised on the product labels.
We recommend you choose a product that comes with the proof of independent lab test.
What Do CBD Third Party Testing Companies Test For?
Third party testing companies test for a number of different things. Each test needs to be run individually. Here in this part of the article we are going to discuss briefly the most common tests run by a independent lab testing company:
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Cannabinoid Profiles
Testing for the cannabinoid profiles is one of the most common tests run by a company. Using testing techniques like High Performance Liquid Chromatography or HPLC, the amount of CBD, THC, CBC, CBG, CBN, and others can be measured.
This test is used to confirm whether the amount of CBD listed on the bottle is accurate or not.
The cannabinoid profile also includes THC. Lab test ensures if the product contains a higher amount of THC than the legit amount. If the products contain more than 0.3% of THC it will become psychoactive. This is undesirable by many consumers.
Terpene Profiles
Terpenes are responsible for the characteristic smell of cannabis plant. Some of the therapeutic benefits of cannabis plant rely on terpenes. Some terpenes improve the absorption of cannabinoids and others have their own benefits over muscle relaxant, sedative, and many more. Terpenes can be found in the CBD products made from full-spectrum extracts and these are removed while making a CBD isolate.
Heavy Metals
Hemp is a bioaccumulator which means it absorbs almost anything from the soil. If the hemp is grown in polluted soil it can absorb all the pollutants including heavy metals, toxins, pesticides, and many more. This is a reason why high-quality CBD products manufacturers source their hemp from the USA.
Usually the testing companies look for the presence of the following heavy metals:
- Arsenic
- Lead
- Mercury
- Cadmium
Organic Solvents
Testing for organic solvents is becoming less popular these days because most of the reputable CBD manufacturers do not use solvents to extract the cannabinoids from hemp plant.
Supercritical carbon dioxide method is much safer and less time consuming. Moreover, it doesn’t require any harmful solvents to achieve an efficient extraction.
However, many independent labs will test for the presence of organic solvents to make sure the product doesn’t contain these harmful compounds. Some of the solvents include:
- Propane
- Isobutane
- n-Butane
- Isopentane
- Acetonitrile
- Acetone
- Benzene
- Toluene
Biological Contaminants
Biological contaminants include molds, parasites, and bacteria. If these contaminants pass through the extraction process they will appear in the final products. Biological contaminants can cause allergic reactions and direct harm to the user. It’s important for you to know that your product does not contain these contaminants.
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How Does CBD Third Party Lab Testing Work?
Testing CBD products can be done in many ways. In addition, there are no regulations defining how CBD products should be tested.
High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)
HPLC is the standard testing method to find out the concentration of cannabinoids in the cannabis plant.
Polymerase Chain Reactions (PCR)
Polymerase Chain Reactions or PCR is a fast and inexpensive testing method that is used to test for biological contamination. This type of testing analyzes strands of DNA and then matches it up with known DNA patterns of bacterial, fungal, and protozoal bacteria.
Mass Spectronomy (MS)
MS testing is used to find out the heavy metals in a sample. But it can also be used to identify cannabinoid profiles.
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (NMR)
NMR is faster than HPLC and requires less solvents to work which makes it a cheaper option. Unfortunately NMR is not as accurate as High Performance Liquid Chromatography.
How Much Does It Cost?
The cost of CBD third party lab testing depends on the lab, the number of tests, the type of tests, etc. The common charge for each test may be something around $50 to $60. For more comprehensive testing, price bundles can range from $100 to $300.
Bottom Line
Although third party lab testing is not required to sell CBD products in the market, many reputable companies are still doing it. This is a sign of integrity of the company.
When you are about to purchase a CBD oil Product, do your research on each brand. Always ask the supplier to give you the information you are looking for. This may include the origin of hemp, the extraction method, concentration of CBD, presence of THC, and the independent lab test results.
Since the CBD industry is not regulated yet, scammers are also getting the same opportunity as the plain-spoken reputable companies to sell their products. It is causing sabotage to the industry by misleading the consumers with low quality CBD oil products.
We highly recommend you buy products only from the CBD companies that can provide you with CBD third party lab testing results.
