How to Read a Shilajit Lab Report (COA)

A certificate of analysis (COA) is the most useful document a shilajit supplier can give you, and the easiest to misread. Here is what each part means and how to tell a report you can rely on from one you cannot.

What a complete shilajit COA should include

• Heavy metals: lead (Pb), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) and mercury (Hg) for that batch, as numbers with detection limits. Thallium is rarely tested but worth asking about.
• Microbiology: total plate count, yeast and mould, E. coli and Salmonella.
• Fulvic and humic acid: with the test method stated.
• Traceability: lab name, batch number, report number and test date.

“Pass” is not a result

A stamp that says “pass” tells you the lab’s opinion against some limit, not what is in your batch. Ask for the measured values. If a metal is shown as “ND”, that means not detected, which is below that lab’s detection limit, not zero.

The method changes the numbers

In one batch we tested, a lab using an older method (atomic absorption, AAS) found only lead at 0.04 ppm. An ISO/IEC 17025 accredited lab using ICP-MS measured lead at 1.10, arsenic at 1.16, cadmium at 0.042 and mercury at 0.008 ppm on the same batch. Neither lab was lying; the method was different. For heavy metals, ICP-MS at an accredited lab is the stronger test.

Fulvic acid: the most misused number

Fulvic acid is a mixture, so there is no single exact measurement. One of our samples read 82%, then 56%, then 61% at different labs. Some labs consistently read high, and some sellers choose those labs. Use fulvic acid as one data point, ask which method was used, and never buy on fulvic percentage alone.

Warning signs on a shilajit COA

• The same numbers on every batch, year after year.
• No batch number, or a batch number that does not match your order.
• No report number or a lab you cannot contact.
• Very low metal results on a very cheap product. Dilution with fillers can make metal numbers look better.

How to confirm a report is genuine

Match the batch number to your order, check the test date is recent, and contact the named lab with the report number to confirm it. Better still, test a sample at your own lab before ordering in bulk. Our shilajit supplier checklist lists the other questions to ask.

Where our shilajit is tested

Our shilajit has been tested at IAS Laboratories (our main lab), Certified Laboratories and MicroQuality Labs in the USA, Eurofins in Europe, NLZOH in Slovenia, GBA Polska in Poland and PCSIR in Pakistan. See our lab reports page, or request the latest batch report for the material you are considering.