Methodology

BatchAssay verifies lab reports (COAs) for supplements sold in the EU and UK — per batch, not per product. We record what a report actually shows; we never infer, estimate or invent results. A report without a batch number never earns a badge.

Verification tiers

• Safety Verified (baseline, mandatory): heavy metals — lead, cadmium, mercury — within the limits of Regulation (EU) 2023/915, arsenic measured, microbiology (Salmonella, E. coli, moulds) passed, and the test performed by a lab with traceable ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation (RvA, DAkkS, UKAS, ENAC, PCA, COFRAC, NABL and peers).
• Potency Verified (gold badge, optional): the active compound quantified by HPLC or titration — for example % fulvic acid for shilajit, % beta-glucans for mushrooms, % withanolides for ashwagandha, or >98% HPLC purity for NMN — matching the label claim.

The five hard checks

1. Lab accreditation — the lab and its ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation must be traceable to a national accreditation body. No accreditation: no badge.
2. Document integrity — PDF metadata showing graphic editors (Photoshop, Canva) sends a report to human review. It is a flag, never an automatic rejection: legitimate labs crop and re-export documents too.
3. Freshness — current (< 6 months), aging (6–12 months), expired (> 12 months). Expired reports keep their history but lose the badge.
4. Sample type — a test on the retail pack (the jar you buy) outranks a test on bulk raw material, and we always show which one it was.
5. Batch match — the report must name a specific batch number.

How values are scored

Each heavy metal is shown as a percentage of its legal limit (Pb 3.0, Cd 1.0, Hg 0.10 mg/kg) with a green / orange / red meter. A value reported as “below the limit of quantification” is counted at that limit — never at zero. Arsenic has no EU supplement limit; it is reported against a clearly-labelled reference value instead.

Automated checks, human judgement

Reports are checked automatically against the rules above and reviewed by a human before anything is published. A report the automated checks cannot read with confidence is never published on its own — it waits for human review.

What we do, and what we don't

• We do not buy and test products ourselves. We open the independent lab report a brand has published, check who tested it, which batch and when, and extract the figures exactly — every verified product links its source report.
• Free to read, no account. Every result and comparison is open to everyone.
• EU and UK sellers only. No report means no badge — never an estimate.

Independence

A verification status can never be bought. Affiliate links are marked “(Ad)” and sponsored placements are labelled “Sponsored”; neither affects any status, score or default ranking. A sponsor without a valid report stays Unverified. We publish this methodology before any badge goes live, and changes to it are versioned on this page.

Information only, not medical advice. Food supplements are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.