The Supplement Industry's Dirty Secret

The dietary supplement industry in the United States is a $60+ billion market with remarkably little mandatory testing. Unlike pharmaceuticals, supplements don't require pre-market approval from the FDA. They don't require proof of efficacy. And in many cases, they don't require independent verification that what's on the label matches what's in the bottle.

The kratom market is no exception. And the consequences of this gap are not theoretical — they're documented.

What Contamination Actually Looks Like

In 2018, the FDA linked a multi-state salmonella outbreak to contaminated kratom products from multiple vendors. Over 130 people were affected across 38 states. The contamination was traced to poor manufacturing conditions and a complete absence of microbial testing.

Beyond microbial contamination, independent analyses have found kratom products containing:

  • Heavy metals — lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury above safe consumption thresholds
  • Residual solvents — chemicals left over from extraction processes
  • Undisclosed alkaloids — concentrations that don't match label claims
  • Adulterants — synthetic compounds added to boost perceived potency
  • Filler materials — non-kratom plant matter used to bulk up weight

None of these would be detected by a consumer. The powder looks the same. The tablets look the same. Without testing, you simply don't know.

What ISO/IEC 17025 Actually Means

Not all labs are equal. Any company can set up a lab bench and call themselves a testing facility. The difference is accreditation.

ISO/IEC 17025 is the international standard for testing and calibration laboratories. To achieve this accreditation, a lab must demonstrate:

  • Technical competence — staff qualifications, method validation, equipment calibration
  • Quality management — documented procedures, internal audits, corrective actions
  • Impartiality — independence from the companies whose products they test
  • Traceability — every measurement traceable to recognized standards
  • Proficiency testing — regular participation in inter-laboratory comparison programs

When a vendor tells you their product is "lab tested," ask: by whom? If they can't name an ISO/IEC 17025-accredited laboratory and provide the COA, the claim is meaningless.

How to Read a Certificate of Analysis

A legitimate COA should include:

  • Lab name, address, and accreditation number
  • Sample identification — lot number, date received, date tested
  • Alkaloid quantification — specific amounts of 7-hydroxymitragynine, mitragynine, and other alkaloids per unit
  • Heavy metals panel — arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury with pass/fail thresholds
  • Residual solvents — Class I, II, and III solvents tested via GC-MS
  • Microbial testing — total aerobic count, yeast/mold, E. coli, salmonella
  • Authorized signature — from the laboratory director or quality manager

If a COA is missing any of these elements, it's incomplete. If a vendor won't provide a COA at all, that tells you everything you need to know.

You can view all of our published lab results at our Certificates of Analysis page. Every batch, every product, every time.

Why Most Vendors Don't Test

Comprehensive third-party testing is expensive. A full panel — alkaloid quantification, heavy metals, residual solvents, microbial — costs $500-1,500 per batch depending on the lab and the number of analytes tested. For a vendor selling cheap kratom at thin margins, that cost is significant.

But the cost of not testing is borne entirely by the consumer. And unlike the vendor's margins, the consumer's health is not a line item that can be optimized away.

The Standard We Hold Ourselves To

Every product we sell is tested by an ISO/IEC 17025-accredited laboratory before it reaches a customer. We test for alkaloid content, heavy metals, residual solvents, and elemental impurities. We publish the results. And we believe this should be the minimum standard for every vendor in this industry — not a competitive advantage.

The difference between a tested product and an untested one isn't visible in the package. It's visible in the data. See ours.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical or legal advice. Kratom products sold by Favor'd Alkz are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.

Last updated: April 2026