Independent lab testing, also known as third-party testing, is imperative when it comes to the manufacturing of CBD products. The testing process will disclose valuable information on the ingredients contained in supplements, ensuring quality control of CBD products.
Independent Lab Testing – Planting the Seed for Safety
When it comes to the cannabis industry, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not have any oversight or regulation, so companies have a significant prerogative in manufacturing their products. Many companies opt not to have independent lab testing done because they do not want anyone dictating what they can and cannot sell.
Benefits of Independent Lab Testing
- Having a neutral and unbiased source to examine the cannabis product will ensure that the CBD manufacturing is providing the finest, purest, and healthiest cannabis supplement available.
- A third-party test also provides vital information such as cannabinoid profiles, which disclose the exact percentages of CBD in the supplement.
- Different percentages of CBD may benefit specific ailments, such as anxiety or pain management, so having this information helps the customer to determine the right strain for your needs.
- Without independent lab testing, the customer would have no way of knowing exactly what ingredients are found in the product they are purchasing.
What Independent Lab Testing Entails
Third-party testing provides CBD information that includes all aspects of what is in the product, including:
Potency – Since there are other cannabinoids besides CBD found in cannabis, testing for the strength of the product is essential.
- All CBD products are legally required to contain less than 0.3% THC
- Terpenes – These are the compounds that produce the color and flavor of the product.
- There are many health benefits for terpenes, which can help increase the therapeutic qualities of the CBD product.
- Pesticides – These make sure the final product does not contain harmful pesticides, which can cause unwanted side effects, is important to hold CBD manufacturing to account and to protect consumers.
- Herbicides and insecticides are often used in conventionally-farmed hemp products.
- Bacteria – Having mold or harmful pathogens on the product could also lead to adverse side effects, which can be avoided with third-party tested CBD manufacturing.
- Residual solvents – Solvents are sometimes used when plant material is turned into oil and CBD is extracted.
- High concentrations of solvents can lead to unsafe products that could be volatile, posing health risks to consumers.
- Heavy metals – testing for heavy metals such as mercury, lead, arsenic, and cadmium, which exist naturally in the soil in trace amounts, will ensure that the CBD product is safe.
Interested in using cannabis as an alternative treatment? Get your cannabis card with a licensed physician.
