CBD oil is often the most popular form of CBD among women dealing with stress, anxiety, chronic pain, sleep problems, and hormonal imbalances.
No doubt, CBD oil has become a widely accepted and natural solution to synthetic drugs. This alternative medicine offers numerous health benefits with minimal to no side effects.
However, with countless products available on the market, consumers often do not have any guarantees in terms of quality and safety. That is where the CBD certificate of analysis (COA) comes into play.
Perhaps this is not the most exciting topic in the world, but it certainly is a very important one to understand. The reason for this is that CBD products are not strictly regulated.
Therefore, reputable CBD brands should be sending their products to independent laboratories for proper testing. The final report is called a certificate of analysis (COA).
What is a Certificate of Analysis?
A Certificate of Analysis (COA) is an important document that states the purity and quality of a CBD product. It is issued by a licensed third-party laboratory and includes a complete list of cannabinoids, terpenes, and contaminants. Basically, it gives the complete picture of what exactly is in the CBD oil.
The COA also protects buyers from deceptive, mislabeled, and poor quality products. It also confirms that the stated potency claims are true. In essence, you want to make sure you are getting what you pay for and nothing that could be unsafe or harmful to your health.
The Bottom Line: A certificate of analysis tells you exactly what and what is not in the CBD oil product that you are buying.
Why Should You Care About a COA?
A study of different CBD products showed that 30.95% were labeled correctly, 2.85% of products were under labeled, and 26.19% were over labeled. But it goes even beyond just the label.
A lot of cheaper products coming from China contain heavy metals, pesticides, or chemical solvents. This is due to lower standards in the extraction process. You definitely do not want these compounds in your body!
Luckily, a certificate of analysis will present the legitimate composition of any CBD product that you buy. This is also another reason to do your due diligence before you buy your CBD oil and find a brand that you can trust!
The Bottom Line: A certificate of analysis is a tool that you can use to protect yourself when you are buying CBD oil from a brand.
Where Can You Find the COA?
There are a few places that you can look:
- Ask companies directly. Don’t be scared to ask for the COA before buying. A good brand should have no problem giving this to you.
- Check online. Most companies post relevant information about their products online. A reputable brand will post this on their website.
- You can get information on the safety and quality of CBD products from third-party laboratories since they conduct the testing.
At ICARIA, we test every batch and post our certificates of analysis on each product page for your reference.
The Bottom Line: The certificate analysis should be available to you through the product website or by asking the brand directly.
How to Read the COA?
The medical jargon on a COA can be confusing and overwhelming. But not to worry! Here is exactly what you need to know.
- Check who performed the analysis. Make sure it was conducted by a licensed laboratory. Also, the report should be unbiased, so be sure that a third-party was used.
- Check the ingredients and amounts. This includes the Limit of Detection (LoD), Limit of Quantitation (LoQ), and Limit of Blank (LoB). The LoD, LoQ, and LoB represent the smallest concentration that can be calculated and analyzed reliably by an analytical process. Some important cannabinoids in the COA include CBDa, CBG, CBC, and CBN, and other cannabinoids.
At ICARIA, there is no need to really check anything other than the CBD concentration itself. Since we use a CBD isolate, there will not be any other cannabinoids like those listed previously, or any THC content either.
A CBD analysis can also often show if the product contains any other harmful components. This could be things such as THC, pesticides, molds, heavy metals, or chemicals. Again, if you are buying from a reputable brand this should not be an issue. Go for a company that uses organic and North American grown hemp, like at ICARIA.
The Bottom Line: There are only a few key things that you really need to look for on a certificate of analysis. This includes who did the analysis and a couple of specific components.
What to Check Before Buying?
Here are a few main things to watch out for before you click the buy button.
- Find out if the CBD amount is lower than the stated amount on the label or if the THC amount is higher than what is advertised.
- The THC amount in CBD oil should not be above 0.3% THC in any CBD oil. If it is higher than this, then it could be considered marijuana and fall under different legalities.
- Check if any other cannabinoids are present. This will only be applicable if you are buying a full-spectrum product and not an isolate as we sell at ICARIA.
- Check the date when the test was completed. Remember to check the lot/batch number, the packaging, and date the analysis was done.
The Bottom Line: There are a couple of main things that you will want to check before you purchase CBD oil from a particular brand.
Final Thoughts
Your well-being depends on the quality of the CBD oil that you buy. We encourage you to do your part by checking the certificate of analysis to ensure that you are getting what you pay for. This also ensures that there is nothing that could be harmful to your health.
Going through this process will also allow you to rest easy and to improve the likelihood of getting the results that you are looking for. If you think that CBD oil does not work for you, you probably are not using a good product or a high enough concentration.
In any case, you should be able to get the information you need online or simply by asking for it. A reputable brand will not hesitate to empower and educate you about their products.
However, if you really do not want to do the extensive research and analysis, simply check out reviews on the company website. Generally, this will be a good indicator of whether or not a product is decent and worth the investment.
