CBD Safety – the importance of Certified Organic hemp and third party lab testing.

The hemp industry is growing quickly but is still largely unregulated in the USA. Although this is likely to change in the coming years, for now, there are few regulations in place to prevent bad actors from taking advantage. So how can you as a consumer protect yourself and make sure you are getting a quality product?

Certified Organic

Similar to certified organic food products, certified organic CBD and hemp products have been independently verified by an accredited agency to ensure they meet the standards and farming practices set by the USDA for organic cultivation and processing. This is especially important for hemp.

Hemp and cannabis plants are known to be efficient bioaccumulators of pesticides and heavy metals. This is a fancy way of saying that they pick up chemicals from the environment and concentrate them in the plant alongside the beneficial compounds we want like cannabinoids, terpenes, lipids, etc.

For this reason, starting with organically grown hemp flowers is key to a high quality extract that is safe for human consumption.

Third Party Lab Tests

Equally important in the CBD and hemp industry is proper testing of the hemp flower and extracts. A reputable CBD company should be able to provide COA’s (Certificates of Analysis) on their website or upon request. These tests should be conducted by an independent third party lab and add an extra layer of safety to ensure a safe end product.

The most common lab test is a potency test which shows the total amount of cannabinoids, as well as levels of individual cannabinoids like CBD, D9 THC, CBG, and others. Per federal law, CBD/hemp products must contain less than 0.3% THC, so a potency test will show whether the product is THC compliant or not. Products that contain more than 0.3% THC are not only illegal per federal law, they also have the potential of getting the user high! You also want to be sure that the product you are buying contains the minimum amount of cannabinoids advertised by the producer.

In addition to potency, it is important to test for pesticides, solvents, heavy metals and microbial contamination. Knowing that your CBD is free of these contaminants will give you peace of mind and confidence in the quality of the product. These additional tests are usually performed on the hemp concentrates after they have been extracted from the raw plant material. You can learn more about hemp extraction methods in this BLOG post.

Welliva CBD

At Welliva, our top priorities are safety and quality. We use only Certified Organic CBD and CBG extracts in our tinctures, extensively test every batch and provide easy access to full test results for every product right on our website. We believe strongly in the benefits of CBD for health and wellness, and want to share those with you in the safest way possible.

To learn more about our organic, high potency tinctures and topicals, please visit our SHOP.