Testing & Standards
Testing & Standards
Your health and safety are central to everything we do.
With practices grounded in holistic medicine and state-of-the-art rigorous scientific testing, we take a hands-on, closed-loop approach to quality control. This ensures maximum control over the identity, quality, potency and safety of all the ingredients and the production process every step of the way.
The diligence and care we put into expertly producing your supplements are done with your wellness and safety at heart.
Behind every bottle is an in-house team of experts in chemistry, biology, botany, food science and pharmacognosy. We follow a rigorous system of steps and tests to ensure that what we put into every product is 100% pure and true to genus and species.
proof positive testing
No root, stem, leaf, bud or blossom goes unverified.
Tests don't stress us out.
We test for pathogenic E. coli bacteria, salmonella, yeast, mold and aerobic plate count and Aflatoxin (a fungal toxin that cancontaminate crops during production, harvest, storage or processing).
We use authentication as a comparison of our examination results with those of validated reference standards in order to ensure proper identification. All raw plant material, regardless of origin undergoes a series of authentication tests in our on-site lab. If it doesn't pass each test here it never becomes part of our family of supplements.
Call us crazy, but we believe the best way to ensure quality, purity and potency is by consistently testing plants, soil and even the water.
Passing our purity tests.
When testing plant material for purity, three tests are used to check for contaminants and to verify that all levels are well below our specification limits.
Microbiological screening tests for pathogenic E. coli bacteria, salmonella, total aerobic bacteria, yeast and mold, threatening food borne bacteria and coliforms.
Using a digital moisture analyzer and water activity meter, we test for moisture and water activity, respectively. This ensures there isn't too much water in our dried herbs. If the water activity is low, microbial growth is limited or halted completely. Excessive moisture creates an environment for microbial activity, making the plant material susceptible to mold and bacterial growth which can create unhealthy toxins.
With atomic absorption spectroscopy we test for heavy metals, including lead, cadmium and arsenic. Only raw materials with acceptable, low levels are approved.
With GC-MS/MS testing to detect pesticides and residual solvents. Soil analysis is important, too. We test our soil for heavy metals and a whole assortment of soil components to ensure.
You can be assured that our scientists are well-qualified to conduct in-house testing. Our process and skills are kept sharp by participating in the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Health Assessment Measurements Quality Assurance Program. This program validates our internal testing expertise and provides a method of continually looking for optimal ways to improve our processes.
Whole herb potency.
Research shows that whole herbs contain a multitude of supporting constituents. They work together to increase the activity of that single isolated compound. Instead of merely isolating specific compounds, we focus on the synergistic activity of the whole plant.
Using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) testing we can determine the levels of bioactive components in our herbs and use that information to maximize our growing and harvesting practices, helping us achieve the highest levels of these active constituents. This test has also proven that by processing fresh herbs immediately, the naturally occurring compounds are often more potent.
What you see on the label is exactly what’s inside. Without compromise.
We use four distinct tests to verify identity:
The quality of each ingredient is identified with FT-Infrared spectroscopy. A "match" is required between the tested material and the specifications listed in our database. Our specifications guarantee a consistent product each time, and you can rest assured that what’s inside the bottle is exactly what is stated on the label.
While modern analytical technology is exciting, the human senses are still superior for assessing the freshness and quality of a product. This is known as organoleptic assessment. A trained technician scrutinizes color, flavor, texture, aroma and particle size. If the plant passes our taste and sniff test, often considered the toughest inspection of all, it gets the green light to move on to the next test.
Microscopic assessment relies on the eyes, a hand-held magnifying glass, a jeweler’s loupe, and compound and dissecting microscopes. This process gives us an up-close look at plant parts for botanical identity.
For macroscopic analysis we use our 20/20 vision. This method of plant material identification uses traits that are visible to the naked eye so we can verify we have the right plant.