The Standard for Lab Testing Kratom

Mount Kratom doesn’t settle for providing subjectively pleasant potent Kratom of unknown origin, dubious objective quality, and safety. Transparency is one of the main defining qualities of our enterprise. Just like you wouldn’t want to buy “a cat in the bag”, we would not want to supply one. In contrast to the penny-pinching competition who are hush-hush on their quality control measures, we have invested in one of the most extensive cost-effective third-party laboratory testing protocols, for our peace of mind and yours. 

Besides for thorough potency studies, we regularly check all our products for organic adulterants, heavy metals, and microbial contamination before they are introduced. Using strictest procedures for chain of custody as well as verifying by comparison test results provided by the distributing supplier, ensures that the information we receive matches with the Kratom we sell. Due to the price tag on such thorough analysis, our painstaking sample collection process must be impeccable. Only brand-new clean disposable equipment is used for it in a quarantined room, as to prevent any and all cross-contamination. 

Thorough Methodology That Leaves No Doubt

The PCR enrichment technique employed by our trusted laboratory allows us to rest easy knowing a heavily microbiologically contaminated product that went through an extensive sterilization process with heat and UV light does not get through the quarantine undetected. Although not a public health concern per se, the dead pathogens leave toxins behind, and the fact that a supplier bothers with contaminated harvest is a red flag in and of itself. Sadly, most Kratom brands who seemingly follow the GMP guidelines do not concern themselves with such “trivialities.” This process also allows us to combine lots in a sample without the fear that any pathogens would get diluted by “cleaner” strains, passing on the cost savings to you! Again, abiding by our motto, we take the extra step of testing randomly selected individual strains, as well. If they all have comparable levels of microorganisms, they clear the quarantine. If not, we investigate until we find the culprit. This brings down the highly unlikely possibility of undetected contamination to below “the ground level.”

If that wasn’t enough, the microbial screening we request detects much more than 4 standard pathogens (Salmonella, Mold, Yeast, and E. coli). As with everything bearing the Mount Kratom brand, we go that extra mile for you. The “most wanted” list we look out for includes various enterobacteria, along with Listeria, Staph and many more. 

Not Everything That Comes From Nature is Harmless

The heavy metal contamination should not be taken lightly. Anything that comes from the soil will have at least some levels of lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium metals. Fruits and veggies aren’t spared from this fate. Their detection alone does not necessarily mean the products aren’t safe, as long as the concentrations do not exceed the standards set forth by the consumer advocacy groups like AHPA. Since the values are given for the maximum permissible daily intake of the heavy metals, the exact allowable concentrations vary across labs based on the assumptions about average daily intake of a Kratom as well as other soil-derived products. Consistent with the rest of our standards, we do not leave much wiggle room for our suppliers. Either combined powder samples pass through the tests with flying colors even according to the strictest estimates, or their phone number is erased from our database. Furthermore, it is not enough for our satisfaction that those who get through this stage have randomly selected individual strains falling far below the acceptable threshold. They must also test out close enough to the values obtained from combined samples to not raise any red flags about possible dilution of the harmful substances. Only then are we confident that nothing has slipped through the cracks. 

Adualturants and Inaccurate Potency “Shall not pass!”

In order to comply with the KCPA requirement of having 7-OH-Mt concentration below 2% of the total alkaloid content, we have designed and regularly conduct simple total alkaloid quantification tests on all new lots. As noticeable from the latest figures, the heated UV light sterilization method which has become the industry standard seems to be resulting in a relatively high conversion rate of mitragynine into the more potent alkaloid. The uncontrollable transportation conditions from overseas may also be contributing to this development. Nevertheless, according to the data we’ve collected and analyzed, our products still reasonably fall into allowed relative values. 

Using HPLC method for alkaloid screening allows us to detect any additives/adulterants if present in any significant quantities. Unfortunately, due to natural variation in plant matter and the cost of potency testing, it is nearly impossible to provide customers with an accurate and precise estimate for any given batch of a strain at a remotely affordable price. Besides being prohibitively expensive, even if one were to test individual strains multiple times, collecting the sample from different locations of the bulk, it would not necessarily provide an accurate figure once averaged out. For that reason, the industry standard is to combine all strains of one color and test each of the combined samples at least thrice to establish an accurate range of Mitragynine and 7-OH-MT one might expect from a strain of any given color. We, on the other hand, once again went further than the rest of the pack. In addition to the described, we randomly select strains of each color and test them individually to make sure that they all fall into the deduced ranges. Any outliers prompt more testing which ensures the most appropriate potency range designation on the market, guaranteed. Don’t believe us? Check out the lab reports and try the products for yourself. It’s the quality confidence you can smell and taste. Mount Kratom won’t have it any other way, period. End of discussion!