"Always check the COA" is advice everyone repeats and almost nobody explains. Here's what to actually look at, walked through on our own lab reports.
1. Does the report name a real lab?
A certificate of analysis should carry the laboratory's name, physical address and phone number, plus the name and title of whoever approved it. Ours were issued by FESA Labs in Santa Ana, California, approved by their laboratory manager. If those details are missing, nothing else on the page can be verified.
2. Does the sample ID match the product?
Every report should carry a unique sample ID and a date. Ours are D90060824-1, -2 and -3, received 24 August 2026 and issued the next day. A COA with no ID can't be matched to a batch, which means it can be recycled across products indefinitely — and often is.
3. Is it recent?
A three-year-old report on a product made last month doesn't describe what's in your bottle. Check the issue date against when you're buying.
4. What did it actually test for?
This is where most people stop too early. A report showing your product contains turmeric says nothing about whether it also contains something undeclared. A serious panel lists every compound screened, not just the ones found.
Ours screened for the full kratom alkaloid list and for kavalactones, alongside the botanical content, so the report proves both what's in it and what isn't.
5. What do ND, LOD and LOQ mean?
- ND — non-detect. The compound wasn't found above the limit of quantitation.
- LOQ — limit of quantitation. The smallest amount the method can reliably measure.
- LOD — limit of detection. Lower still: the method can tell something is there but can't put a number on it.
ND doesn't mean "zero atoms." It means below the stated threshold, which is why a good report prints the LOQ next to each line. On ours, mitragynine has an LOQ of 0.049 ppm and reads ND.
6. Is the amount per serving or per package?
A label saying 1,250 mg is telling you the weight of what's in the bottle, not how much active it contains. Our Tranquil report gives 58.74 mg of total kavalactones per serving — a different, much more useful number than the 500 mg printed on the front.
Red flags
- An image of a COA with the lab name cropped out
- "Lab tested" as a badge with no document behind it
- A results table with no LOD or LOQ column
- A report for a different flavor or a different batch than the one you're buying
- A seller who says the report is available and then doesn't send it
Ask us
Our lab data is published in full on the lab results page, and we'll email the signed PDFs for any batch you've bought. Where we don't yet have a report for something we sell, we say so rather than implying we do — that's the version of transparency worth anything.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This article is general information, not medical advice.