How to read a certificate of analysis

A certificate of analysis, or COA, is the laboratory's report on one production run. Every Smart Addicts batch has one, and we send it to anyone who asks with a lot number. This is how to read it once it arrives.

Start with the header

The top of a report names the laboratory, the date of the test, the product and the lot number. Check the lot number against the one printed on the back of your pack. A report that does not name your lot is a report for a different run, and it tells you nothing about the pack in your hand.

Identity

The identity test confirms that the material is what the label says it is: Mitragyna speciosa for the kratom ranges, the blend on the label for the Shruums range. It is usually stated as pass or fail with the method used. This is the line that rules out a substituted material.

Potency

The potency line states the amount of the marker compound found in the sample. For kratom that is mitragynine, expressed as a percentage of the sample or as milligrams per piece, and alongside it the amount of 7-hydroxymitragynine, which should sit below the stated threshold. This is the line the figure on the pack is drawn from, so the two should agree; what the milligram on the pack means explains where that figure comes from.

Heavy metals

Lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury are reported individually, each with the amount found and the limit it is measured against. A result written as ND means not detected at the laboratory's reporting limit. A result with a number is fine as long as the number is under the limit on the same line.

Microbial

The microbial panel looks for total aerobic bacteria, yeast and mold, and named organisms such as E. coli and Salmonella. Each line again carries a result and a limit. The named organisms should be absent.

What a good report looks like

A good report names your lot, states the method for each test, prints a limit next to every result, and is signed or stamped by the laboratory. A report that says pass without a limit, or a screenshot of a table with no laboratory name, is not a report. If something on ours is unclear, write to us with the lot number and the line you are asking about.

How to get yours

Turn the pack over, find the lot number next to the best before date, and send it to support with the product name. The report for that run comes back by email. The lab results page describes the tests in more detail and shows an example layout.