If a CBD brand doesn't offer a COA for their products...you should probably be finding a new CBD brand
Accountability and transparency are two attributes that you would assume would standard for CBD companies and production facilities, right? It would only make sense that if a brand is encouraging you to ingest and put their products on your body, they would, at the very least, let you know what is (and isn't) in the oils they use to make them. Sadly enough, in the unregulated CBD retail world, this is definitely NOT the norm. A good measure of the integrity and transparency of a company is their willingness to go the extra mile and pay for third party testing to obtain a COA, or Certificate of Analysis.
Reputable CBD brands will happily provide COA information for each and every one of their finished products, which should be readily available on their main website or packaging. You will often times see a QR code on tincture bottles or packaging, which can be scanned to take you directly to the company website, where you can then view the full lab report. After final product formulation and production, the company should pull a sample of each separate product (or the oil that was used in that product) to be sent to an accredited third-party lab, which will then perform the chemical testing. However, this testing isn't always cheap, and many CBD companies will use white label services or purchase ingredients from distillate/isolate wholesalers that don't want to spend the money to show what is in their ready for market oils. It's important to avoid these brands and companies and opt to purchase your CBD from a brand that offers full transparency by way of COA testing.
What info should you find in a COA?
It's good to approach a COA with a "less is more" mentality--what's most important is what is NOT found in the product. A full COA report should test for the presence of the following: heavy metals, pesticides, and the weight percentage and concentration of cannabinoids that are present in your product. Kancanna tests for at least 4 heavy metals, microbial contaminants such as salmonella and E. coli, and no less than 50 pesticide residues. We also check to make sure the potency and purity is the levels are to our preferred specifications, assuring that whether we are processing for a white label brand or our own retail line (Butler Hemp Co.), the final products you end up taking are of the highest quality and efficacy. Readily providing this info by testing through unbiased third-party lab should essentially give customers the confidence and security they need to make an informed purchasing decision, and also show that the company truly cares about the people that are purchasing their CBD products.