“Lab Tested”: What a Food Lab Report Can, and Cannot, Tell You

Somewhere on the pack or the brand’s website, you will often see the words lab tested. It sounds like proof. Sometimes the brand will even share the report itself, a page of numbers with a laboratory’s name at the top.

A lab report is real evidence, and it is one of the best things a food brand can show you. But it is evidence about something specific. Knowing what that something is, and what it is not, is the whole skill.

In our guide to reading a label we looked at the batch number and licence on the pack. This post picks up from there: what to look for when a brand puts a lab report in front of you.

1. Which lab, and what is it accredited for?

The report should name the laboratory. In India, many labs are accredited by NABL (the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories) against the ISO/IEC 17025 standard for testing laboratories. FSSAI separately recognises or notifies certain labs for official food testing.

Two things to check. First, accreditation is granted for a defined scope, meaning specific tests on specific kinds of products. A lab can be accredited and still not be accredited for the test in your report. Second, accreditation is about the lab’s competence. It does not mean the product itself is good.

2. Which sample, and which batch?

A report describes the sample that was sent to the lab, nothing more. Look for the sample name, the batch or lot number, and the dates: when it was sampled or received, and when it was tested. Most reports say in some form that the results relate only to the sample tested.

This is why the batch number on the pack matters. A report for last year’s batch tells you little about the jar in your hand. If the batch on the report does not match the batch on your pack, the report is background information, not proof about your product.

3. Which parameters were tested?

A report lists what was measured, such as moisture, a pesticide group, heavy metals, microbial counts or a specific marker. Everything that is not listed was not tested.

So “tested” is never a complete sentence. Ask: tested for what? A product can be tested for one thing and say nothing about another. A report that shows excellent results for a single parameter is a useful fact about that parameter only.

4. The method, the units and the limits

• Method: a good report names the test method. It is what lets another lab repeat the test.
• Units: check them. Milligrams per kilogram and micrograms per kilogram differ by a factor of a thousand.
• Limit or specification: a number means little alone. Look for the limit it is being compared with, for example a regulatory maximum, and whether the result is inside it.
• “ND” or “BDL”: this means not detected or below detection limit. It means the amount was too small for that method to measure. It does not mean the substance is absent. The detection limit should be stated.

5. Who asked for the test, and when?

A report commissioned by the brand is not the same as one produced by an inspection. Both can be useful. It helps to know which you are looking at, and how old the report is. Food changes over its shelf life, so the date matters.

Five questions to ask about any lab report

• Which laboratory made it, and is it accredited for this test?
• Which sample and batch does it cover, and does that match my pack?
• What exactly was tested, and what was not?
• What method and limit were used, and is the result inside the limit?
• Who requested the test, and how recent is it?

What a lab report cannot tell you

Even a clean, relevant report cannot tell you how the crop was grown, where it came from, how the next batch will turn out, how a product tastes, or whether a broad claim such as “pure” is true of the whole product. It answers a narrow question well. It is one piece of evidence, not a verdict.

That is the way we treat evidence at Root to Bite. A brand’s statement is a claim until we have seen specific evidence, and when we have, we say what it covers and what it does not. You can read more in how we handle evidence.

General information, not legal, medical or scientific advice. Accreditation and testing requirements change, so check the current position with the bodies listed below.

Sources

• NABL: National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories
• FSSAI: Food Safety and Standards Authority of India

General information only, not legal or medical advice. No brand sponsored or reviewed this article.