The popularity and demand for CBD products is currently at fever pitch. Scroll through your favorite social media platform or stop by your local gas station or beauty salon and you’re bound to find a variety of CBD products that advertise an assortment of health benefits ranging from stress relief, better sleep, and much more.
But are all CBD products created equal? No! But don’t take my word for it: according to an investigation conducted by an NBC News affiliate, of 35 CBD samples tested, 20 products had less than half of the amount of CBD advertised on the labels. In some cases, some samples had no CBD in them at all. Here are 3 ways that you can check to make sure that the CBD you’re buying is legitimate:
- Testing/COA’s
A great way to check if a company is testing their products is through a COA (certificate of analysis). This is essentially a resume for the product that has a summary of the testing analysis conducted by a third-party testing facility. The easiest way to this is a QR code on the side of the product. However, many companies don’t include QR codes, so you might have to visit their website or even request it through their consumer affairs division.
2. Ask Questions
Customer service representatives should be adequately trained so they can answer product questions and provide testing information quickly. If a technical question comes up that they don’t know, don’t e afraid to ask them to reach out to their manufacturer so they can provide you with a thorough answer. As a rule of thumb, companies should always do their best to answer all inquiries, so if they can’t, maybe that should give you plenty reason to explore other CBD companies.
3. Expiration Dates and Batch Numbers
You can use the batch number on the product label to find out where and when a product was made, and the expiration date to ensure that it’s fresh. As previously mentioned, COA’s are a great way to check for testing practices, and typically a batch number and expiration date should be posted next to the COA on a company’s website.