Only 7% of CBD brands test products for all impurities, says Leafreport

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A recent report published by Leafreport determined that transparency efforts in the CBD industry may be deteriorating. To complete its transparency analysis, Leafreport examined Certificates of Analysis (C of A’s) of 188 brands, as advertised on their website, for a total of 4,384 products. Results showed that only 7% of brands tested all their products for microbes, pesticides, and heavy metals, compared to 6% the previous year. Other brands tested some but not all impurities, with 28% of brands not testing for pesticides at all, 26% not testing for any heavy metals, and 24% not testing for microbes. Of the brands analyzed, 20% did not carry out any purity testing at all, compared to 25% the previous year.

When it comes to potency, 42% of the brands tested almost all of their products for potency, which is consistent with Leafreports analysis in 2021. However, only 12% of the brands had all their products fall within the acceptable potency variance limit of 10%. In fact, 88% of the brands that tested their products for potency had at least on product test beyond the 10% of potency variance, compared to 84% in 2021.

This current report uses a much larger sample of products than the 2021 report, which evaluated 136 brands, and a total of 2946 products. Considering this, the results of the current report are not very positive for the CBD industry, demonstrating a lack of consistency in product quality and standards.