Testing methodology
How independent product testing works here
Product testing checks what is inside a supplement — identity, potency and contaminants. It is not diagnostic testing for people. 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 bought at retail like any customer would buy them, and the lot number, purchase source and purchase date are recorded. Brands do not supply the units we test 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
How results are classified
Results are classified as Pass, Finding or Inconclusive against a pre-defined specification. A Finding is not automatically an accusation: a single lot result can reflect sampling, method variability or a genuine manufacturing problem, and we say which applies as far as the data allows.
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.