Lab results
How to read a COA: a field guide
A certificate of analysis is a lab report, not a marketing document. Four things matter, and you can check all of them in about two minutes once you know where to look.
Quick answer
Check that the batch number matches your packaging, the test date is sensible, the cannabinoid panel shows what the label claims, and every contaminant panel says pass. If any of those is missing, the report is incomplete.
What a COA is, and what it is not
A certificate of analysis is a document produced by a testing laboratory describing what it found in one sample of one batch of product. It is evidence about that batch, on that date, for the tests that were run.
It is not a quality rating, a safety guarantee or an endorsement. A lab does not judge whether a product is good. It measures what it was asked to measure and reports the numbers.
That distinction matters when you are shopping. “Lab tested” on a website means very little on its own. A report you can open, tie to your batch and read for yourself means a great deal.
Start with the batch number
Before you read anything else, find the batch or lot number at the top of the report and check it against the number printed on your packaging.
A COA covers one batch. A report for a different batch is a report about somebody else’s product, however similar the name looks. This is the single most common step people skip, and it is the one that makes the rest of the document meaningful.
If you cannot find a batch number on the report, or it does not match your packaging, ask. On our products the batch is on the box and the linked report should name the same one.
Check the dates
Reports carry at least two dates: when the lab received the sample, and when it ran the tests. Some also show a report issue date.
All of them should sit sensibly before the date the product reached you. There is no universal expiry on a COA, and a report does not become wrong with age, but a test run years before the product shipped is worth a question about how long that batch has been sitting.
The cannabinoid panel
This is the main table: which cannabinoids were found and how much of each. You will usually see a percentage by weight and a milligrams-per-gram figure side by side. They are the same measurement expressed two ways.
Two things to check. First, the cannabinoid named on your packaging should be present in roughly the quantity claimed. Second, delta-9 THC should fall within the legal hemp limit on a dry weight basis.
You will also meet two abbreviations. “ND” means not detected — the lab looked and found nothing above its detection threshold. “<LOQ” means present, but below the level the lab can put a reliable number on. Neither is a fault; both are normal results.
How total THC is calculated from THCA is its own subject, and it is where most confusion about hemp lab reports lives. We cover it separately in total THC vs delta-9.
The contaminant panels
A full report tests for more than cannabinoids. Expect separate panels for pesticides, residual solvents, heavy metals and microbial contamination, each with a limit and a pass or fail against it.
Residual solvents matter most for extracts made using them. A solventless process like live rosin should show very little, but the panel being present and passed is still the point — an untested product is not the same as a clean one.
Heavy metals matter particularly for vape hardware, because metals can migrate from components. Pesticides and microbials speak to the starting material.
A report with a cannabinoid panel and nothing else is not a full test. It is fair to ask why the other panels are missing.
Who ran the test, and can you verify it
The lab’s name, address and accreditation appear on the report, usually in the header or footer. Many labs also print a sample ID or QR code that lets you pull the same report from their own portal.
That independent check is worth doing on a product you have not bought before. A PDF can be edited; a record on the laboratory’s own system is much harder to fake.
Accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025 is the common standard to look for. Its presence tells you the lab has been assessed against a recognised framework.
What a COA cannot tell you
It cannot tell you how a product will affect you, and we will not interpret it that way. It says nothing about taste, hardware quality or how long a device will last.
It also only describes the sample that was tested. Sampling is done to a protocol, but a report on one sample is not a measurement of every unit in the run.
Within those limits it is still the most useful document attached to a hemp product, because it is the only part that was produced by someone with nothing to sell you.
Where our reports live
Every product page on this site links the report for that product. Our lab results page collects them by line so you can browse rather than hunt.
Where FVKD has not published a report for a batch, the product page carries a request link instead of a dead one. We ask for it and publish it when we get it. We would rather show you a gap than pretend there isn’t one.
If you have a product in your hand and the batch does not match the report we link, tell us with the product name and the batch number and we will sort it.
FAQ
Questions, answered
What does ND mean on a lab report?
Not detected. The lab tested for that compound and did not find it above its detection threshold.
What is LOQ?
Limit of quantitation — the smallest amount the lab can measure reliably. A result below LOQ means the compound is present but too little to put a firm number on.
Does every FVKD product have a COA?
We link a report wherever FVKD has published one for that batch. Where one is missing, the product page carries a request link and we chase it.
Does the COA have to match my exact batch?
Yes. A certificate of analysis covers a single batch. If the batch on your packaging is not the batch on the report, ask for the correct report.
What is ISO 17025 accreditation?
A recognised international standard for testing laboratories. Seeing it on a report tells you the lab has been assessed against that framework.
Can a COA tell me how strong a product is for me?
No. It reports what was measured in a sample. We make no claims about effects and a lab report is not a basis for predicting them.
