What does lab-tested mean?

What does "lab-tested" mean on a label?

On its own, not much you can check. The words aren't a certification: they say a test happened, not what it found. Each of the phrases below promises something narrower than it sounds, and each comes with a question that makes it useful.

What does third-party tested mean?

Third-party testing means the lab that ran the tests has no stake in the result: it isn't the brand's own quality-control lab (first party) and it isn't the ingredient supplier or a buyer (second party). All three can produce accurate numbers. Only the third takes the brand's word out of the equation.

Indian law accepts all three. A food business has to test its products at least once every six months "through own or NABL accredited / FSSA notified labs" (FSSAI conditions of licence, no. 12). So a legal test can come from the company's own lab. If independence matters to you, ask which lab it was.

How to read a lab report: five checks

1. The lab. Name, address and accreditation. In India, look the lab up on NABL's directory and check that the test you care about is in its accredited scope. Labs are accredited test by test, not as a whole.
2. The sample. Product name, batch or lot number, and dates. The batch on the report should match the one printed on your pack. Most reports say the results apply only to the sample tested, which is fair, and is why one old report can't vouch for every batch.
3. The results, with limits and units. Every value should sit next to its limit, for example lead below 0.01 mg/L in packaged drinking water. ND means "not detected", but only down to the lab's detection limit, which a good report states.
4. The method. Each test should name its method (an IS, ISO, AOAC or FSSAI manual method). Without one, numbers from two labs can't be compared.
5. The verdict and the signature. A statement of whether the sample meets the specification, an authorised signatory and a report number. Reports from NABL-accredited labs carry a unique lab report (ULR) number for accredited tests, and under NABL's newer rules QR codes that open the lab's accreditation and the report itself.

What FSSAI requires, and what it doesn't

So a licensed brand is testing, at least twice a year, and filing the reports with the regulator. Nothing in these rules asks it to show you the results. Asking is still fair: a brand that tests should be able to share its report, or tell you why not.

How to verify a NABL lab report

1. Find the lab's name and its NABL certificate number on the report, usually next to the NABL symbol.
2. Search for the lab on nabl-india.org and open its certificate and scope of accreditation.
3. Check that the tests on your report are listed in that scope, and that the certificate was valid on the report date.
4. Scan the QR codes on the report, if it has them: one should open the lab's accreditation, the other the report.
5. Still unsure? Write to the lab with the report number and ask it to confirm the report is genuine.

A NABL symbol covers only the accredited tests. A report can mix accredited and non-accredited tests, and should mark which is which.

Why we publish ours: transparency as a culture, not a law

Get Waisted's motto is "Make transparency a culture, not a law." No law tells you to offer a guest water before they ask, or to touch an elder's feet. You do it because that's how you were raised. We treat lab reports the same way: every batch tested, every report published, and a QR code on each can that opens the report for that batch. How we arrived at the motto.

Where we are today: nothing is on sale yet, our lab partner is being finalised (we're looking for an accredited lab), and the report on our site is a labelled sample until a batch passes. When real reports go up, hold them to the five checks above.