Leafreport Study Finds Over Half Of CBD Products Are Mislabeled

The CBD dedicated portal, Leafreport, tested 221 CBD products out of which only 40% matched the labeled CBD strength. At the same time, many of these also contained the wrong type of CBD, noted Leafreport in a recent study.

Leafreport sent the products for third-party testing and compared the results to the amount and type of CBD listed on the product label. These included 35 CBD oils, 40 topicals, 40 edible, 22 beverages, 55 pet products and 29 coffee & tea products.

“For each one, we compared the amount and type of CBD shown on the test to the label. To be considered accurate and receive an A grade, products needed to be within 10% of the labeled CBD content. Products that were off from the label by a higher percentage received a B, C, or F grade,” reads the report.

The firm assigned each product a letter grade depending on its accuracy:

A (Excellent): independent lab tests showed CBD levels that were within 10% of what was stated on the label.
B (Decent): independent lab tests showed CBD levels that were within 20% of the label.
C (Poor): independent lab tests showed CBD levels that were within 30% of the label.
F (Fail): independent lab tests showed CBD levels that differed from the label by more than 30%.

To be considered accurate, a product needed to be within 10% of the labeled CBD strength. “For example, if a company sold CBD oil that should contain 1000 mg of CBD but the tests only showed 600 mg, that means it contained 40% less CBD than claimed. This poor result would receive an F grade since you’d be getting much less CBD than you paid for,” clarifies the report.

Results

• Only 40% of products matched the labeled CBD strength
• 28% of products received the worst (F) grade for having CBD levels that differed from the label by more than 30%
• On average, the CBD content of the products was off from the label by nearly 25%
• Beverages had the worst results, with only 18% of products matching the label and two products containing no CBD at all
• Out of 97 products advertised to contain broad or full-spectrum CBD, 44% were mislabeled
• In the beverage, topical and edible categories, more products received an F than an A
• Lesser-known CBD companies performed better than leading brands in the edible and beverage categories
• The two most accurate brands were Lazarus Naturals and Steve’s Goods; their products received A scores in all three categories in which they participated
• Just CBD, PlusCBD, and CBDistillery also did well, scoring an A on two reports and a B on a third one
• Oils were the most accurate CBD products, with 74% matching the labeled CBD strength and an average difference of only 13.5% from the label
• Out of 17 products advertised to contain broad or full-spectrum CBD, 12 (70.6%) contained the wrong type of CBD; most of these were full-spectrum oils that didn’t carry THC.