Peps
What you can and can’t check yourself
Color, clarity, price and packaging say nothing reliable about what a vial contains. Identity, purity and amount need laboratory instruments such as liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. What a buyer can check is the paper trail: whether the certificate of analysis (COA) a seller shows was really issued by the lab named on it, for the same lot.
That check matters more than it sounds. A certificate is easy to copy, edit or reuse for a different batch. The testing lab’s own record is much harder to fake.
Five steps to check a certificate
1. Note the identifiers on the certificate: the lab’s name, the report or COA number, any access, search or verification code, the lot or batch number, and the test date.
2. Open the lab’s own lookup page. Type the lab’s address yourself or use the list below. A QR code or link printed on a copy can point anywhere, so make sure the address really belongs to the lab.
3. Compare the details: client (the seller), product, labeled amount, lot number, purity, measured amount and dates should all match.
4. Compare every page and image, including the chromatogram and any endotoxin, heavy-metals or sterility pages. If the lab tested several vials, every result should appear.
5. Match the lot to what is for sale now. A certificate for an older lot says nothing about a newer one.
What our checks have turned up
So far 76 of the 88 lab reports we looked up matched the testing lab’s own record, and 8 did not. Some reports were missing from the lab’s records. Others matched on the headline numbers but had a different certified date or chromatogram than the lab’s copy. In one case the lab had tested several vials and one failed, while the seller’s copy showed only the passing vial. Some product pages linked a report for an older lot.
Sometimes there is an innocent explanation, such as a certificate the lab reissued. When something doesn’t match, ask the seller and compare again with the lab’s record.
Where the labs keep their records
ILS Laboratories (San Diego, CA): ILS verify portal (access code or verify link); ILS access-code lookup.
Freedom Diagnostics Testing: Freedom Diagnostics COA lookup (search code).
MDx BioAnalytical Laboratory: MDx certificate search.
Vanguard Laboratory (Olympia, WA): Verified by Vanguard reporting hub.
AV Analytics (College Station, TX): AV Analytics COA search.
BioRegen: BioRegen report verification (report number and validation key).
Bioviridian Inc. (College Station, TX): Bioviridian COA search (web verification code).
North American Diagnostics (Austin, TX): North American Diagnostics verify (test ID).
Horizon Analytical: Horizon Analytical COA verification (report number).
Mistral Diagnostics (Dallas, TX): Mistral Diagnostics verify (COA number).
Kovera Labs: Kovera verify (report number and access code).
Source: portal.ils-lab.com ↗
Source: ils-lab.com ↗
Source: freedomdiagnosticstesting.com ↗
Source: mdxbiolabs.com ↗
Source: verifiedbyvanguard.com ↗
Source: avanalytical.com ↗
Source: bioregen.com ↗
Source: bioviridians.com ↗
Source: nadiagnostics.com ↗
Source: horizonanalytical.com ↗
Source: mistraldiagnostics.com ↗
Source: koveralabs.com ↗
What a match does and doesn’t tell you
A record that matches shows the lab issued that report for that lot. It is not a test of the vial you receive, and it doesn’t establish identity, purity, sterility or safety for any use. None of these products are FDA-approved drugs, and PepsRadar gives no dosing or usage information.
A free PepsRadar account shows which sellers’ reports matched the labs’ records, report by report, with links to each lab’s record.
Continue with the original research
Study examples are based on selected publication abstracts and the explicitly described source documents. This is not a systematic review or an individualized treatment guide. Editorial scope and methods.