Everything You Need to Know About Third-Party Lab Testing Kratom

Everything You Need to Know About Third-Party Lab Testing Kratom

Kratom is a wonderful supplement to anyone’s health and wellness regime. It can inspire motivation or calm, depending on which strain you prefer. When embarking into the new world of Kratom, it’s essential to know the facts about this botanical in general, along with the labeling information from specific vendors.

If you are new to the Kratom community or are researching it as a botanical, you may have a lot of questions. One of the most important questions you can ask is about third-party lab testing.

Third-party lab testing is when a company that grows, processes, and sells Kratom sends its product to an outside lab, a third party with no vested interest in the product’s quality, to get it tested. Labs test for potency and any harmful ingredients like pesticides or heavy metals that the tree may have absorbed through the soil, air, or water.

It’s up to reputable Kratom vendors like Kats Botanicals to provide transparency with labeling and product description. One of the best ways to highlight this honesty with consumers is through third-party testing.

kratom lab testing and kratom bagKratom Background

The Kratom tree, or Mitragyna speciosa, is related to the coffee plant and is indigenous to areas like Borneo and Thailand. This incredible plant is resilient and adaptable, and people living in Southeast Asia have benefitted from Kratom for centuries.

Traditionally, consumption is either chewing the leaves or brewing them into a strong tea. Many first-timers have a hard time with the bitter taste, so Kats Botanicals and other reputable sellers offer Kratom powder, which is easily added to smoothies, oatmeal, applesauce, or any other food or beverages. It can also be made into Kratom powder capsules for easy ingestion.

Three main strains of Kratom – red vein, white vein, and green vein help users boost their well-being. Different strains have specific benefits.

When you mix white and green vein Kratom, you may promote motivation and well-being. Green vein Kratom improves cheerfulness and cognition, whereas red vein Kratom can imbue tranquility and peace. White vein Kratom fosters motivation. Green vein Kratom is an exciting balance between white and red.

Whichever outcome you’re looking for, part of the satisfaction of adopting Kratom is its versatility. With careful exploration, you’ll find a strain that fits your needs and lifestyle perfectly. Once you’ve discovered which strain or combination of strains you like best, you should then look for specifics about third-party lab testing.

How Do Labs Test Kratom?

A third-party laboratory runs a Kratom product through a series of tests to ensure that it contains the ingredients denoted by the supplier.

When an outside laboratory tests a Kratom product, they ensure that the product is made up of Kratom leaf or product from the Kratom tree. The lab also checks for any other contaminants or heavy metals, and the number of alkaloids, specifically mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine.

For Kratom products that are found readily on suppliers’ sites, the mitragynine level is at or below 2%, with even less 7-hydroxymitragynine.

Labs test Kratom to detect pathogens like molds, salmonella, and coliforms. Some of the heavy metals that are detrimental to humans and may be present in untested Kratom are mercury, lead, nickel, and cadmium.

lab testing kratomProduct Potency

A plant’s morphology, or its external factors, changes in response to the quality of the soil it’s grown in and the amount of sunlight and water it gets.

These elements guide how a plant grows, matures, and reproduces, and at a biochemical level, how many alkaloids are in the product. The number of beneficial alkaloids in the Kratom plant are influenced by how it is harvested and processed, and where it is stored and for how long.

Sometimes a lab finds that the product it’s testing comes from an expended leaf, meaning that the alkaloids have already been removed from the leaf. Kratom may provide a boost of well-being, but without its alkaloids, these benefits are absent from Kratom.

For a consumer, it is crucial to know the levels of alkaloids in the product you’re considering adding to your health and wellness routine, and third-party testing can give you the answers you need.

Pathogens

Interestingly, the pathogens that may appear in a Kratom product were not there when the plant was growing, so studying a snapshot of a Kratom product can tell observers about how the Kratom was harvested, processed, and stored.

Labs test for mold, salmonella, and coliforms, all living entities which can produce harmful effects on humans if consumed. If any of these pathogens are present, it often means that the product was picked off the ground, not from a tree, that it was stored improperly in a damp place, or that it was stored without drying entirely first.

Any of these situations could allow mold or pathogens on the Kratom, as these contaminants need warm, damp environments in which to grow.

Heavy Metals

The levels of these naturally occurring elements have increased over the last century due to humans’ disruption of the Earth’s processes. The increased levels of heavy metals in the environment, like the soil and water, means that they will eventually show up in more of our harvested plant material.

When humans consume this plant material, they are exposing themselves to the harmful effects of heavy metals like cadmium, nickel, or iron. High doses of these can be detrimental to your health over time.

That is why it is vital to buy Kratom solely from purveyors like Kats Botanicals that use third-party testing to ensure their Kratom is free from heavy metals.

Types of Tests

There are a few ways that a reputable lab tests samples of Kratom. Another tool labs use to test the purity of their products is with quality indicators. These benchmarks allow sellers to quantify the performance of the product they’re testing.

A high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) tests the sample against its label to make sure it’s accurate. It also tests against quality indicators to make sure it is up to industry standards.

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) and thin layer chromatography (TLC) are other tests used to look at the biological makeup of the sample and to make sure that the results of the HPLC are correct.

Some of the substances that Kats Botanicals tests for are lactobacillus, alicyclobacillus, yeasts, molds, aerobic plate count, and coliforms.

Many labs put a Kratom sample through a simple sensory test, checking the look, smell, and texture of the sample against quality indicators. Microbiology testing includes mold and yeast count, as well as chemical analysis.

Labs provide an analysis of the physical properties, including the size of the particle measured against a standard, and the product’s density.

All these tests are not required for every single sample. Still, this attention to detail and focus on consumer wellness is the expectation all reputable sellers like Kats Botanicals try to meet.

Problematic Testing

Because Kratom is sourced from Southeast Asia, there is a long process and transportation timeline from harvest to your front door. Issues can arise at any juncture in the supply line.

This is why third-party testing is so crucial to ensuring the final product is high-quality Kratom and free from contaminants. Look for lab results with records of batch size or methods of testing in the lab results.

If you request lab results from a Kratom seller, but cannot easily tell the batch size, what they’re testing for, or the method of testing, you may want to dig a little deeper.

Reputable Labs

One of the critical choices a Kratom seller can make is which lab to send its Kratom to for testing. Using a thorough, trusted laboratory with years of experience and cutting-edge technology can mean the difference between transparency and counterfeit results.

Kats Botanicals uses Tested Labs, a Fortune 500 company, to test its Kratom products. Third-party laboratories should be unbiased, with no affiliation to a specific Kratom seller or company, and non-incentivized, which means that the lab was not paid for one particular set of results.

Negative Test Results

testing kratomAt Kats Botanicals, if there is ever a negative test result from a batch of Kratom, the batch is destroyed immediately.

Health and safety are of the utmost importance, and we value our customers over a bottom line. That’s why we offer transparent, precise analyses from a reputable third-party laboratory so that our customers know that they’re getting the very best Kratom.

Final Thoughts

Over the last few decades, some consumer-seller rapports have been tarnished by shoddy testing and fake results. Unfortunately, these instances have also caused legislators to view Kratom as unsafe for consumption and pass Kratom bans. The very legality of Kratom in the United States rests on vendors who diligently test their Kratom batches and provide complete honesty and transparency to their consumers.

At Kats Botanicals, we want you to feel knowledgeable and satisfied with your Kratom choices, so we offer complete third-party lab results. If you’re exploring the options of Kratom products, make sure you are fully informed about the new addition to your lifestyle.

Written By Staff

The staff writers for Kats Botanicals have been researching and writing about Kratom products for more than 5 years, and have a combined experience of over 35 years of writing in the healthcare and supplement industry. The team has a keen understanding of the topic, remain current on all FDA and industry news, and use their expertise to generate engaging and informative content to help educate consumers on Kats Botanicals’ products. Each article is fact-checked and includes sources to scientific data to ensure readers receive the most up-to-date and accurate information possible.

Reviewed By Justin Kats

Justin Kats, founder of Kats Botanicals reviews and approves all content before releasing it for posting on the Kats Botanical website. Justin has been a tireless advocate for the benefits of  Kratom since 2012. As a champion for botanical therapy, Justin created a Facebook group where more than 12,000 people discuss botanicals, and Kratom. He has also assisted more than 80,000 customers since the inception of his business and works directly with a single source farmer to ensure the purity of the products he sells. He also performs rigorous lab testing because he understands what it takes to get a high-quality and safe product to market.

Share this post:

GET EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNTS & ACCESS TO
KATS BOTANICALS GIVEAWAYS

Everything You Need to Know About Third-Party Lab Testing Kratom