“Third-party lab tested” appears on nearly every hemp product sold online. As a phrase, it is almost meaningless without context: a single partial cannabinoid potency test from a non-accredited facility with a commercial relationship to the brand technically qualifies. What a real testing program looks like is something different entirely.
🧪 Lab Tested | 👩💼 Woman-Owned | 🏆 Est. 2017
What “Third-Party” Actually Means
A third-party laboratory is one that has no financial relationship with the company whose products it tests. Not affiliated, not contracted exclusively, not partially owned. The “third” in third-party means the lab is external to both the brand (first party) and the customer (second party). Independence is the mechanism that makes a COA meaningful.
Most hemp companies use some form of lab testing because their state requires it or because customers expect to see a COA. The quality of that testing varies widely. At the minimal end: cannabinoid potency only, from a lab that tests exclusively for one brand, with no publicly searchable accreditation. At the rigorous end: a full panel covering cannabinoids, terpenes, pesticides, heavy metals, residual solvents, mycotoxins, and microbials, conducted by an ISO 17025-accredited laboratory with independent certifications and published results traceable to specific batches.
ISO 17025 is the international standard for testing and calibration laboratories. Accreditation under it requires a lab to demonstrate competence, impartiality, and consistent operation across all tested parameters. An ISO 17025-accredited lab for cannabis testing has been independently evaluated for the specific methods it uses. The accreditation does not guarantee results; it guarantees that the methods meet a defined standard of reliability. That distinction matters when you are evaluating what a COA actually tells you.
The phrase to look for: ISO 17025 accreditation for the specific test categories relevant to your product. A lab may be accredited for cannabinoid potency testing but not for pesticide testing. Accreditation is category-specific, not blanket. A COA is only as reliable as the accreditation behind each section of it.
What TribeTokes Tests For
Every TribeTokes product batch is submitted for a full-panel test before it is sold. “Full-panel” means all of the following categories, not a selection of them.
Cannabinoid Profile
Confirms the type and percentage of every cannabinoid present: Delta-8 THC, Delta-9 THC, CBD, CBG, CBN, THCa, and others. Verifies that the label accurately reflects the product contents and that no unexpected cannabinoids are present above detection thresholds.
Potency accuracy
Terpene Profile
Identifies and quantifies each terpene present. Terpenes affect flavor, aroma, and interact with cannabinoids through what is often called the entourage effect. The terpene panel also helps verify that a product has not been adulterated with synthetic terpene additives or had its natural terpenes stripped during processing.
Flavor and effect accuracy
Residual Solvents & Cutting Agents
Screens for leftover extraction solvents (butane, propane, hexane, ethanol, acetone) and unauthorized cutting agents or diluents including Vitamin E acetate. This is the panel most directly relevant to the 2019 EVALI crisis and the single most important safety test for vape products specifically.
EVALI-relevant
Pesticides
Tests for agricultural pesticide residues. Cannabis concentrates during extraction, which means pesticides present in the raw plant become significantly more concentrated in the final extract. Regulated states require testing for 60+ compounds. TribeTokes testing covers the standard pesticide panel applicable to hemp products.
Concentration risk
Heavy Metals
Tests for lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury. Cannabis is a known bioaccumulator of heavy metals from soil. Hardware components in vape products can also leach metals into the oil over time. Both sources are tested against established safety limits.
Hardware and soil safety
Mycotoxins & Microbials
Mycotoxin testing covers aflatoxin and ochratoxin, mold toxins that form when cannabis is improperly dried or stored. Microbial testing checks for pathogen contamination including E. coli, Salmonella, and Aspergillus species. Both are particularly relevant for flower and edible products.
Storage and handling safety
The Testing Process, Step by Step
A COA does not appear automatically when a product is made. It is the result of a documented process with multiple decision points. Here is what that process looks like from production to the COA on our website.
1
Batch production and sampling
Each production run is assigned a unique batch number. Representative samples are drawn from multiple points in the batch rather than from a single location to ensure the sample reflects the entire run.
2
Sample submission with chain of custody
Samples are submitted to the independent laboratory with documented chain of custody: who handled the sample, when, and how. Chain of custody prevents sample substitution and creates a legal record of sample integrity.
3
Full-panel laboratory analysis
The lab runs the full test panel using validated analytical methods. Different compounds require different instruments: HPLC for cannabinoids, GC-MS for residual solvents, ICP-MS for heavy metals, LC-MS/MS for pesticides and mycotoxins.
4
Results review and QC decision
Results are reviewed against established pass/fail thresholds for each tested category. If a batch meets all specifications, it moves to packaging. If it fails any category, it does not ship.
5
COA generation and verification
The laboratory generates the official Certificate of Analysis with the batch number, test date, results for each category, and the lab’s accreditation information. This document is the permanent record of what was in that specific batch.
6
Public COA publication
Batch-specific COAs are published at tribetokes.com/certificates-of-analysis and linked from individual product pages. Each COA is traceable to its batch code, which also appears on the product packaging.
How to Read a Certificate of Analysis
A COA from a professional laboratory contains more information than most people read. The sections that matter most depend on what you are trying to verify, but a few elements apply universally.
- Lab name and accreditation number. These should appear on the first page. The accreditation number lets you verify the lab’s ISO 17025 status through the accrediting body’s public database. If an accreditation number is absent, the accreditation claim cannot be verified.
- Sample ID and batch code. The COA should identify the specific batch it covers. This number should match the batch code on the product packaging. A COA without a specific sample ID or batch code could apply to any production run from that brand, or to no specific batch at all.
- Test date. Confirm the test date is recent relative to the product’s production date. A COA from the same brand from 18 months ago is not evidence that the product you are holding has been tested.
- Results and limits for each category. For cannabinoids: look at the percentages and verify they match the product label. For contaminants: each result will show the detected amount and the established action limit. “ND” means not detected (below the method detection limit). A result below the action limit is a pass. A result above the action limit is a fail.
- Overall pass/fail statement. Most professional COAs include a summary pass/fail for each test category. If the document does not include one, calculate it yourself by comparing each result against its listed action limit.
One thing most COAs do not show: what happened to batches that did not pass. A public COA only tells you about the batches that cleared every test category. The absence of failed COAs on a brand’s website is not evidence that every batch passed. It may simply mean that failed batches were disposed of without public documentation. What distinguishes a rigorous testing program from a marketing exercise is what the brand does when results come back below the required standard, not just when they come back clean.
What Happens When a Batch Fails
Failed batches at TribeTokes do not ship. This sounds obvious, but it is not universal practice in the hemp industry. Some operators retest a failed batch from a different sample in hopes of a different result. Some reformulate on the edge of a pass threshold and resubmit. Some simply do not test categories that are likely to produce failures for their product type.
A batch that fails pesticide testing has detectable pesticide residue above the action limit. A batch that fails residual solvent testing has extraction solvent present above the residue limit. A batch that fails cannabinoid potency testing has a cannabinoid profile that does not match what the label claims. None of these are products that should reach a customer, regardless of the economic cost of discarding a production run.
The test categories most likely to produce failures vary by product type. Flower products are more susceptible to microbial failures (improper drying, humidity during storage). Vape products are more susceptible to residual solvent and heavy metal failures (extraction quality, hardware). Edibles are more susceptible to pesticide failures (raw material sourcing). When you pull a COA for a specific product type, those are the rows to read first.
How to Access TribeTokes COAs
All batch-specific Certificates of Analysis for current TribeTokes products are publicly available at tribetokes.com/certificates-of-analysis. COAs are organized by product and include the batch code, test date, testing laboratory, and results for every tested category. The batch code on a product’s packaging corresponds to the batch code on its COA. If the two numbers do not match, contact the team before using the product.
COA verification in three steps: (1) Find the batch code on your product packaging. (2) Go to tribetokes.com/certificates-of-analysis and locate the corresponding COA. (3) Confirm the batch code matches, the test date is current, and all categories show pass status or ND for contaminants. If you have any questions about a COA or cannot locate a result, email team@tribetokes.com.
COAs are the last line of consumer verification for product safety. A brand that makes them easy to find and cross-reference against specific products is doing its job. A brand that tests but does not publish, or publishes without making results traceable to specific batches, is providing documentation without accountability.
Frequently Asked Questions
It means the product was submitted to a laboratory that has no financial relationship with the brand. In practice, the quality of that testing varies enormously. “Third-party tested” without additional context says nothing about whether the lab was accredited, what categories were tested, whether testing was batch-specific, or whether the results are publicly accessible. The phrase is a starting point, not a safety certification.
ISO 17025 is the international standard for testing and calibration laboratory competence. Accreditation under it means the lab has been independently evaluated and approved for specific testing methods by an accrediting body. For cannabis testing, accreditation is category-specific: a lab may be ISO 17025 accredited for cannabinoid potency testing but not for pesticide testing. Look for accreditation that covers all categories relevant to the product type you are evaluating.
A COA is the official document produced by a laboratory that records the test results for a specific product batch. It includes the laboratory’s identity and accreditation, the sample identification and batch code, the test date, and the results for each tested category with pass/fail determinations relative to established action limits. A batch-specific COA is the primary consumer-accessible document for verifying that a product is what it claims to be and free of harmful contaminants above action limits.
Periodic testing tells you about the batches that were tested, not the batches between them. Contaminants do not appear on a calendar schedule. A pesticide failure reflects conditions in a specific raw material supply, a specific harvest, or a specific production run. A residual solvent failure reflects conditions in a specific extraction run. Testing every batch is the only way to catch problems that are batch-specific rather than systemic, and most product quality issues are batch-specific.
ND means “not detected”: the compound tested for was not present above the method’s detection limit. Each analytical method has a detection limit below which results cannot be reliably quantified, and ND indicates the result fell below that threshold. For contaminant categories like pesticides, heavy metals, and residual solvents, ND is the ideal result and means the contaminant is absent or present at trace levels too small to measure with the method used.
It does not ship. A batch that fails any test category (cannabinoid potency that does not match the label, contaminants above action limits, or microbial contamination) is not released for sale. This means consumers only receive products whose specific batch has cleared every test category. The cost of discarding a failed batch is real. It is also the point of having a testing program rather than just a testing marketing claim.
Yes. Residual solvent and cutting agent testing covers Vitamin E acetate (tocopheryl acetate), the compound identified by the CDC as the primary cause of the 2019 EVALI outbreak. No Vitamin E acetate or other cutting agents are used in TribeTokes products. For background on the EVALI crisis and the role testing plays in preventing similar outcomes, see The 2019 Vaping Crisis: What Happened & What We Learned About Safety.
Yes. All TribeTokes products containing Delta-8 THC, Delta-9 THC, or THCa will produce a positive result on standard drug tests. Lab testing confirms what is in the product; it does not change the pharmacology of how cannabinoids are metabolized. Drug tests screen for THC metabolites, which are produced by the liver from any THC-class cannabinoid regardless of whether the product is third-party tested. CBD and CBG products without THC are the only TribeTokes products without drug test risk.
Every Batch. Every Category. Results Publicly Available.
View batch-specific COAs for all current TribeTokes products. Woman-owned since 2017.