Testing methodology
How independent product testing works here
Product testing checks what is inside a supplement — identity, potency and contaminants. This page describes how we run it and where the limits are.
How products are selected
Selection favors products with high customer volume, categories with known contamination or adulteration risk, and products where members have raised specific questions.
- Sales volume in our own catalog
- Known category risk, such as heavy metals in plant proteins or oxidation in fish oil
- Gaps or inconsistencies in the manufacturer's own documentation
- Member nominations and votes, once nominations open
How samples are obtained
Samples are randomly selected from our available stock and the lot number, purchase source, and purchase dates are recorded. Brands do not know ahead of time what we will be testing and do not choose the lot.
Laboratories and methods
Testing is performed by external laboratories. Each published result names the laboratory, the analytical method, the expected range or specification, and the measured value.
- Ingredient identity
- Potency against label claim
- Heavy metals
- Microbiology
- Pesticides and residual solvents
- PFAS, adulterants and category-specific contaminants
What the results mean
Every test gets one of three plain labels. Before testing starts we write down what a good result looks like, then compare the lab's number to it.
- Passed — the lab result matched what the label promised, with no contaminant above our limit.
- Problem found — something did not match: less active ingredient than claimed, or a contaminant above our limit. We say exactly which.
- Unclear — the result could not be trusted on its own, usually because the lab flagged the sample or the numbers were borderline. We retest before calling it anything else.
Publication and corrections
Results are published whatever they show. Brands are given the opportunity to respond, and their response is published alongside the result. Older findings are never deleted when a newer lot passes; the chronology stays intact.
Where we funded a test, that is stated. Where a manufacturer funded its own third-party test, that is stated instead. We never describe manufacturer testing as independent verification by us.
Current status
The testing program is being built out as the company grows. No real laboratory results are published until a sample has been purchased, tested and reviewed. Any demo records on the site are clearly labelled as such.