Leafreport Industry Study Finds Only 7% of CBD Brands Test for the Big Three: Pesticides, Heavy Metals and Microbes

TEL AVIV, Israel, May 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leafreport.com ("Leafreport" or "the Company") announced today the release of a study reporting that only 7% of cannabidiol (CBD) brands test for pesticides, heavy metals and microbes. Leafreport is a leading online reviewer of CBD products founded to provide accurate, evidence-backed information about CBD directly to consumers through unbiased reviews, a searchable database, buying guides, and detailed market reports.

For this study, the Company reviewed 4,384 products from 188 cannabidiol (CBD) brands to evaluate the state of transparency in the industry. They found that only 7% of brands tested all their products for microbes, pesticides, AND heavy metals, compared to 6% in 2021. Only 12% of brands had all their products fall within acceptable potency variance levels, and 20% of brands carried out no purity testing on their products at all. In comparison with 2021, transparency within the CBD industry appears to be stagnating and deteriorating in several critical respects.

Here’s a look at other key findings about brand transparency, quality, safety, and the current state of the market:

• 20% of the brands reviewed didn’t carry out any purity tests to check for the presence of microbes, pesticides, or heavy metals. In 2021, 25% of the brands Leafreport reviewed didn’t carry out any purity tests.
• 42% of brands test almost all of their products for potency (90%-100% accurate) and share their third-party lab results with consumers — the same as in 2021.
• Only 12% of brands had all their products fall within acceptable potency variance limits.
• 88% of brands that tested their products for potency had at least one product test beyond the 10% variance for potency, in comparison to 84% in 2021.
• 28% of brands didn’t carry out any testing at all for pesticides (such as glyphosate), 26% didn’t test for the presence of any heavy metals (such as arsenic), and 24% didn’t test for microbes (like bacteria).
• Two brands carried out no lab testing at all for either purity or potency, compared to 3 brands in 2021.

"It’s unacceptable that so many CBD companies do not do the most basic tests to ensure that their customers' health is not jeopardized," said Gal Shapira, Product Manager at Leafreport. "Leafreport’s mission is to get in front of issues like this so consumers can be conscious of their buying power. Robust third-party testing is something that needs to be a priority for all CBD companies that take transparency and customer safety seriously."

To view the 2022 Transparency Report, click here. Leafreport also released a similar report in 2021 and if you’d like to compare results, here is a link to the 2021 report. Leafreport appreciates the need for high quality CBD products and has compiled a list of the best CBD oil which you can view here. To learn more about how Leafreport selects and grades the best CBD products, click here.

About Leafreport:

Leafreport is a science-based, peer-reviewed website designed to help consumers navigate the landscape of CBD. The company's mission is to introduce transparency into the CBD industry through its patient-focused, educational content and medical reviews. The company's medical review team consists of physicians, chemists, nutritionists, pharmacists, and naturopaths.

Media Contacts:
Lucas Wentworth
NisonCo PR
Lucas@NisonCo.com
M: +1-607-220-6332

Gal Shapira
Leafreport
Gal.Shapira@leafreport.com

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Source: Leafreport