The Importance of Third Party Testing for Cannabis Quality

image of lab techs testing in a cannabis lab

Here at Proleve, all of our products are rigorously third-party lab tested to ensure purity, potency, and quality. But you may be wondering: what is third party lab testing for cannabis and CBD? Why test cannabis products, and what is the value of third-party testing? 

In this article, we tell you everything you need to know about why third party lab testing is crucial to ensuring safe, effective, compliant CBD products. Read on to learn more about cannabis testing methods, quality control, and more. 

What is Third Party Testing? About CBD Testing and Cannabis Quality Control

Third-party testing occurs when a CBD company sends a product to an independent, accredited ISO lab for analysis. The labs where Proleve products are tested are not affiliated with our company in any way, which ensures unbiased, credible results without conflicts of interest. 

Cannabis testing by a third-party results in a CoA for the product in question, which confirms the following aspects of the product being tested: 

  • Cannabinoid Content. The third-party lab provides a detailed analysis of the product’s cannabinoid content, including CBD levels, minor cannabinoid content, and THC content.
  • THC Levels and Compliance. Third-party lab testing also provides THC levels, confirming that THC content is 0.3% or lower in accordance with federal law. 
    • Full Spectrum
    • Broad Spectrum
    • Isolate
  • Contaminants. Third-party lab tests confirm that the product does not contain any contaminants such as heavy metals, pesticides, or microbial impurities. 

Why Test Cannabis? The Importance of Cannabis Potency Testing for Safe, Effective, Compliant Products

Cannabis products are tested to ensure that the end-product is safe, effective, and transparently advertised. 

By third-party testing our products, Proleve ensures that its products are: 

  • Transparent Advertising and Dosing. By confirming CBD levels and minor cannabinoid content, third-party tests guarantee that our customers receive a product with exactly the amount of CBD advertised on the label, both per serving and per container. This is crucial, since it allows customers to accurately determine what dose they are taking and what dose they need to achieve desired results. 
  • Minor Cannabinoid Content for Full and Broad Spectrum Products. Third-party testing also confirms that products advertised as full spectrum or broad spectrum CBD contain the minor cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids required to meet these specifications. This differentiates full or broad spectrum products from CBD isolate, which contains only CBD and no additional compounds.
  • Safety and Purity. Third-party testing confirms that the product in question does not contain any harmful contaminants that could prove damaging to consumer health. Our third-party tests confirm ND (non-detectable) levels of heavy metals, pesticides, and microbial contaminants. 
  • THC Compliance. Cannabis quality testing is crucial to ensure that full-spectrum CBD, Delta 8, and Delta 9 products have compliant THC levels below 0.3%. THC levels beyond this limit can cause customers to unwittingly end up with an illegal product, and may cause undesired side effects, psychoactive effects, or mind-altering effects beyond what is expected and advertised. Additionally, third-party testing for CBD isolate or broad spectrum CBD confirms that the products in question contain 0% THC as advertised.
  • Potent. The dosages advertised on our product labels are backed up by third-party test results confirming that each serving size of a hemp product--as well as the entire package--contains the advertised amount of CBD, THC, and other cannabinoids. 

There are significant risks associated with untested products, including: 

  • Contaminants. Products that haven’t been tested for safety, purity, and potency could contain harmful metals, chemicals, mold, microbes, and residual solvents (harsh chemicals leftover from extraction and processing techniques).
  • Inconsistent Cannabinoid Content. If products haven’t been tested for cannabinoid content, there’s no way for a brand or a consumer to tell if it has more or less CBD and THC than advertised. Unexpectedly high THC levels, for instance, could lead to intoxication or illegal products, while levels of CBD that are too high or too low could produce insufficient or adverse effects.

What to Look for in Third-Party Testing: Reading Proleve’s CoAs

When reviewing third-party tests for cannabis quality control, be sure to find a CoA that lists the following results: 

  • Cannabinoid Profile. Proleve’s CoAs list the amount of active ingredients such as CBD, THC, CBG, Delta 9, Delta 8. They also reflect the presence or absence of other minor cannabinoids.
  • Terpenes and Flavonoids. Full or broad spectrum products will be tested for the presence of terpenes and flavonoids. These naturally-occurring products occur alongside cannabinoids in the hemp plant, and determine the effects of products such as our Strain-Specific Delta 8 Gummies. 
  • Testing Date. Be sure that the CoA lists a recent date to confirm that the third-party test is accurate to the current batch.
  • Batch Number. Each Proleve product and CoA is assigned a specific batch number. By matching the batch number on your physical product to the number on the CoA, you can ensure that the test results are specific to the exact product you have in-hand. 
  • Lab Accreditation. When reviewing CoAs for cannabis quality testing, be sure that the lab conducting the test is ISO-accredited. This ensures that the lab in question is using up-to-date, accurate cannabis testing methods and procedures.

***

In today’s oversaturated CBD market, third-party testing is crucial to ensure that the products you receive are safe, legal, transparently advertised, and will produce the effects you’re seeking. Due to CBD’s increase in popularity and the lack of federal hemp regulations, third-party testing is the most effective way to ensure that your products have been vetted to ensure safety, quality, potency, and purity.

Here at Proleve, our hemp products are tested by an ISO-accredited third-party lab. You can find up-to-date CoAs on each product page, allowing customers to ensure that the product they receive has been expert-vetted with consumers’ health, safety, and satisfaction in mind. 

 

Cbd Thc

Understanding Emerging Trends in the Cannabis Industry

By Jami Lewin

Since 2019, the hemp and cannabis industry have skyrocketed in size and value. 2025 has been a year of cutting-edge new cannabis trends, with an increase in demand for new minor cannabinoids such as CBG,...