Although you may be seeing CBD oil nearly everywhere these days, that does not mean that the industry standards and regulations have caught up with CBD’s newly found popularity. Today’s CBD hemp industry often is littered with unregulated products and low quality hemp CBD oils, so it’s very important to be careful that you’re only purchasing hemp CBD products from reputable CBD oil suppliers.
CBD Testing
Even if you’re unfamiliar with CBD lab reports, you most likely have seen them loudly advocated for in brands such as Palm Organix. Premium CBD oil brands advocate so heavily for lab reports because all the high end reputable CBD sellers have two layers of lab testing. Lab reports, referred to as certificates of analysis (COA), are only the first step, then samples are sent for third party testing. Third party tests and COA’s are essential tools to use when shopping for quality CBD oil products.
Understanding why CBD lab reports are necessary will empower you to find effective, pure, CBD products. In this guide introduce what is being tested, and by the end you will be on your way enough information to make an informed decision about which CBD products to purchase based on the importance of lab testing.
Farm Bill
In 2018, the Farm Bill federally legalized industrial hemp with a few conditions, most notably that the CBD must contain less than .3% THC. Although the passage of these laws federally legalized hemp products, the CBD oil industry operates in an area of unregulated uncertainty as the FDA conducts further testing and guidance.
CBD Regulation
This lack of CBD industry regulation means there are no compliance or CBD content controls on the hemp products that are being sold in the general consumer market. Untrustworthy brands are allowed to sell products that are misleading, and potentially even harmful. For now it is up to the consumer to verify and review everything available on a particular hemp CBD oil product. This experience can be daunting, but we have put together a helpful guide on why CBD testing can be your resource for choosing safe pure CBD products.
Until the expected oversight and regulation is addressed, leading brands will continue to practice transparency via Certificate of Analysis and third party lab testing. The result is testing designed to verify hemp and CBD product content, purity, and potency. Furthermore, Lab reports empower the consumer, to verify exactly what is in each and every CBD product you purchase.
Hemp CBD Testing: Self Regulation
It is essential for you, the consumer, when shopping for CBD products to use vetting tools – and lab reports are arguably the best tool available. Companies that verify their potency and purity are performing self regulation that their products are safe. Verifying the contents of a CBD product from these lab reports will arm you with knowledge and can be the difference between discovering a potent, pure product and being sold something without CBD at all – or perhaps even worse. To put it bluntly – if the CBD company is not transparent about a product via their CBD lab reports, don’t buy your CBD from them.
Hemp Testing Services
There are a variety of areas a lab will test when sent CBD samples. Below are the most important to look for on hemp testing reports. To note, testing services should be done by an ISO certified hemp testing facility. ISO certification attests that the management system, manufacturing process, and documentation procedure has all the requirements for standardization and quality assurance
THC Levels
Industrial hemp is used to formulate CBD products as opposed to cannabis plants because the THC content is naturally lower. Marijuana hemp plants are not used for the formation of hemp extract, and cannabis may have psychoactive side effects. The levels of THC must test below 0.3% for the manufactures to sell the product. Hemp testing that identified extract over the 0.3% should signal to the producer that the batch in question should not be sold as it is not Farm Bill compliant.
If a product is being sold as THC Free or Broad Spectrum, the corresponding hemp testing should indicate a 0.0% THC level. For many people having a THC Free product is the most important factor in choosing a hemp CBD product.
Potency Tests
Lab reports are performed to verify that the cannabinoid profile listed on the label is consistent with the cannabinoid content in the bottle. In addition to the cannabinoids, testing is done for terpenes and flavonoids. Higher concentrated CBD products are typically more expensive, so when customers are paying for a highly concentrated product, the cannabinoids listed on the label should be consistent with the product in the bottle, or at least with in a 90% range of what is listed.
Hemp extracts are sometimes sold with additional ingredients to create specific forms of hemp product. For example, Palm Organix™ combines melatonin and CBD tailored for a healthy night’s sleep. In this situation the amount of cannabinoids and the amount of melatonin are both tested for potency.
Residual Solvents
If hemp plants are processed using solvents such as ethanol alcohol there can be harmful residual solvents left behind. A premium producer of hemp extract will more likely use the CO2 extraction method to avoid using solvents and reduce the possibility of them being in a final hemp CBD product. It is still important to have solvent testing done, even if CO2 extraction was used to process the hemp plants.
Chemicals
Lab testing also verifies the product is free of harmful contaminants such as heavy metals, mold, pesticides and more. When this CBD extract is created, there is a possibility that it can contain contaminants. This is due to poor growing practices, pesticides used during farming , and/or sub-par extraction. These chemical compounds can be harmful, so lab result data should always confirm compliance with purity standards.
Test Results
All CBD testing results should be available on the CBD business website. More and more manufacturers are also place a QR code on the label which will access the lab analysis reports. Consumers will want to review lab tests and results before purchasing a CBD product.
Palm Organix CBD
Palm Organix third party tests every batch of our products to test for potency, purity, heavy metals, and THC content. We are transparent with results which are available on our product pages. Our customers clients love our variety broad spectrum formula, and trust our commitment to quality. If you have any questions regarding our products or placing an order please reach out to our customer service staff by phone or email, we are happy to help.
Disclaimer
The statements made regarding these products have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
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