We have been given permission to post any known forgeries without including any names. This page, under construction, will show actual images of the forgeries we’ve been informed of, as well as AUTHENTIC versions, and will teach you how to spot a forged Certificate of Analysis.

01. DUPLICATED CERTIFICATE:

One of the forgeries we’ve been made aware of consists of a single test that has been modified to make it look like we ran multiple tests for the client. Every individual material has its own unique fingerprint, and generates a unique picture in the form of a chromatogram when it is passed through our testing equipment. As an example, different varieties of the same botanical will have similar earmarks that identify it, but there will be individual markers that make that profile unique from other varieties. It becomes more difficult to tell samples of the same strain apart, but different strains have distinctly different fingerprints.

Therefore, every chromatogram will have a different image. If you see several Certificates of Analysis that all have the same chromatogram, it is a FORGERY.

KEY POINTS: THE TWO ABOVE IMAGES ARE AUTHENTIC CHROMATOGRAMS.

To a trained lab technician, these 2 images are VERY different. First, notice how the times are different in each image. This is because every material is unique, like a snowflake, and will release from the column at different times. Notice how the first peak that appears is only about 200 mAU high in the top image, but in the lower image, it’s nearly 400 mAU. Both samples have similar alkaloid content, but the picture they generate are unique to that sample. Look closely at any certificates being presented, and make sure the images are not simply duplicated images.

02. DUPLICATED DATA:

We’ve seen a couple of forgeries that didn’t even try to change the underlying data for the Certificate of Analysis. If you look more closely at a Certificate of Analysis, you will notice several key items in the data table. Even though a sample of the same strain will elute within a similar time frame as other similar samples, each material will have a unique “Retention Time”. And, we track that Retention Time to the thousandth of a second.

LOOK AT THE ABOVE EXAMPLE FOR AUTHENTIC RETENTION TIMES.

03. INCORRECT MATH:

All of our results rely on a constant that was painstakingly developed over the course of numerous tests, using a reference standard purchased from a laboratory supply house. We use reference standards for everything we test. This teaches our machines to recognize what each verified authentic botanical looks like when it passes through our machines, also giving us a reference point for what 100% of an alkaloid or lactone looks like when running samples.

Once we have those numbers and light frequencies, we come up with a mathematical constant that we multiply results by. Without that constant, the results won’t make sense. In several years, we’ve seen a reliable average for alkaloid or lactone content of all the materials we’ve tested. Every once in a while, there’s an exception, but 99% of the time, most fall within a known range.

If you’re presented with a Certificate of Analysis that has an unusually large percentage of the desired alkaloid, chances are it’s been altered and is a forgery.