When you decide to purchase a CBD product the number of choices is staggering! It’s especially easy to see this explosion of options in the online marketplaces for CBD offerings. This is great, as it gives consumers plenty of options and variety to pick from, but it can also be a bit overwhelming and intimidating to try and make an informed decision. Everyone wants to know they’re buying from a reputable company, but how can you actually tell one that is from one that isn’t?

Since the FDA has yet to mandate any regulations on CBD products, a good indicator that you’re shopping at a company with excellent standards is whether they provide lab results. Of course, it’s wonderful when you can access that information on a company’s website, but most of us aren’t scientists who know where to begin when looking at some of these tests.

Above we’re looking at one of Blue Forest Farms lab tests and we’ll break down the vital information you should be looking for in these potency lab results.

CBD Content in Lab Results

This is probably the most important result and the one you’ll most likely want to check first since it will let you know that you’re actually getting the amount of that main ingredient that the label says you are.

For example, BFF Advanced Formula Lemon Drops come in a 600mg bottle, with 14mg of CBD per serving, according to the label. So, when you look at the lab breakdown, locate the result for CBD, and follow it across, you’ll see that the amount of milligrams per gram (Result mg/g or Total Potential CBD at the bottom) is 14.61, slightly higher than, but almost identical to, what’s promised on the label. In general, test results shouldn’t vary more or less than around 10-20% of what is advertised.

There’s another useful column to note, which is the first one, LOQ(mg). You may be wondering what LOQ(mg) refers to, and what that result means. LOQ stands for “Limit of Quantitation.” That’s a fancy way of saying the smallest amount for which the test can provide reliable accuracy. While it is a way to evaluate the precision of the testing, and the sample result shouldn’t be much less than than the LOQ, this isn’t a column you should be very concerned with.

THC Content in Lab Results

A big red flag that a company isn’t properly sourcing the hemp for their products can be found in the THC levels. Again, this result can be found at the very bottom of our example, just above Total Potential CBD, and should be at or below 0.3%, which is the current legal limit.

You probably see that there is a small amount of THCV in this test, however THCV is a cannabinoid unique from regular THC. THCV is not a psychoactive unless taken in very high doses. The THC you want to make sure is 0, or at least below 0.3%, is Delta 9- Tetrahydracannabinol (Delta 9THC), second from the top on the list of compounds in our example. This is the psychoactive type of THC.

Other Areas of Note

When checking on the legitimacy of a product, the amount of CBD and THC are likely the two main questions you’ll have on your mind, and, in this example, that information is easy enough to find. Not only is it all compiled for you right at the bottom, but there’s also the handy pie graph on the left comparing not only CBD, CBDa, delta 9 THC, and THCa, but also a full 15fifteen compound breakdown if you want to really geek out on what cannabinoids are in your product.

Other cannabinoids you may be interested in are CBDV, and CBG. These two unique compounds are rising stars in the CBD hemp industry. We’ll link to our blog posts here for full details on these and other new cannabinoids as more are discovered.

Find Your Personalized CBD Lab Results with BFF

CBD products are meant to help us be healthy, calm, and relaxed in body and mind, so shopping for them shouldn’t be a stressful event. Now that you have the tools to identify a trustworthy seller from one that might have a reason to keep their information hidden, and how to easily find the most relevant information to make sure the product you’re buying is perfect for you, CBD shopping can be a stress-free activity. If you shop with BFF, finding your personalized test result is as simple as entering your batch number on our site!

Sources:

https://hempdaddys.com/how-to-read-cbd-lab-tests/

https://www.botanacor.com/education/understanding-your-lab-report/