One of the biggest questions we get asked is whether or not we do Kava Lab Testing. It’s not only a resounding “Yes we do!”, it’s actually what we specialize in. We’ve probably tested more Kava than any other facility of our type. And the results are nothing short of shocking. Mind you, Kava is an extraordinarily difficult plant to work with; not only are the roots of the Kava plant consumed, giving way to a host of microorganisms including various types of mold, yeast, and bacteria. But Kavalactones begin to break down at just 140 degrees Fahrenheit, making it impossible to irradiate Kava via heat.
This creates an unusual problem for those wanting to sell Kava for consumption to consumers.
What’s more, is that most of the Kava comes from developing or underdeveloped countries such as Fiji and Vanuatu. Both of these places have issues with rain water, water runoff, drinking water, and sewage all intermingling. Since water is used to water Kava plants, the issues facing Kava become clear. If most of Kava was grown using rainwater, this would be far less of an issue. But it’s not. Most of the Kava, especially large scale production of Kava takes irrigation. After personally researching irrigation techniques in both Fiji and Vanuatu, it became very clear, very quickly, that there could be problems with bacteria, mold, and yeast in Kava.
Many of the mold that occurs naturally in Kava isn’t inherently harmful. In fact, one of the common molds found in Kava is sold as a pro-biotic, and can actually help calm stomachs that may be upset by Kava root. But, this is impossible to know until DNA testing is done on the Kava sample. And this can get very costly very quickly.
What’s even more disturbing, is that we’ve seen a dramatic increase in the occurrence of E. Coli in Kava Root since 2016. One of the many reasons this could be is the massive flooding that has occurred in both Fiji and Vanuatu in 2016. All kinds of waste water, runoff, and churned up bacteria would inevitably end up in the Kava root. Out of the first 20 samples we tested in 2017, over half of them came up positive for E. coli, and 2 of them came up positive for Staphylococcus.
This is scary stuff.
And I don’t present this information to be alarmist; I present it only to encourage anyone who is thinking about selling Kava for consumption, and in its raw form, to first think about the safety of the consumer. There are ways of irradiating Kava, but we don’t know of any vendors yet who actually do this with their Kava except for one, and they don’t offer Kava Root; only processed Instant Kava. We do al of the testing for Kava.com, and can personally attest that none of their Kava has ever come up positive for any dangerous pathogens, including E. coli, Salmonella, Pseudomonas, or heavy metals.
Here at Wonderland-Labs, we will help instill trust in your Kava products. We offer a full range of tests, and even offer biological tests a la carte if you so choose. To verify both the identity of your Kava, as well as the Kavalactone lineup and total Kavalactone percentage, we charge just $99.00. We keep a reference standard in the freezer, and rotate to a fresh reference standard every 3 months, to ensure that you get accurate results, time and time again. Many testing labs who don’t specialize in Kava, will have to first buy a reference standard, the cost of which will get passed onto you.
Then, if you’re interested in biological testing, we offer the full menu required by the FDA, as well as heavy metal testing also highly recommended by the FDA, and used by every major dietary supplement provider we’ve encountered. Each of those tests is $99.00 as well, bringing a full workup for your product to just $297.00.
That may seem like a lot, but the price of insurance against a dangerous product can prevent you from being sued, or worse; driven out of business by a consumer complaint, and then a visit from the FDA.
We love what we do, and we love Kava. It’s a match made in heaven. Take a look around the website, check out the FAQ PAGE for every question we’ve ever been asked, or GET A QUOTE using our handy online form.