What's Actually In Your Carts? (How to Read a COA)

The hemp space has a trust problem. Plenty of carts arrive with loud packaging, big potency claims, and not much proof behind either one. A Certificate of Analysis, usually shortened to COA, is how you look past the label and see what a laboratory actually found in a tested batch.

At Eighty Six, every product is third-party lab-tested and the results are available on the Eighty Six Lab Reports page. That matters because a useful COA goes far beyond the biggest THC number on page one. A full-panel report can show cannabinoid potency, pesticides, residual solvents, heavy metals, microbials, mycotoxins, and sometimes terpenes. Here is how to read a COA and understand what each section means before you take your next pull.

A Certificate of Analysis (COA) shows what was measured in a tested product batch. Check the potency panel to confirm cannabinoid content, then review the pesticide, residual solvent, heavy metal, microbial, and mycotoxin sections for passing results. Terpene testing, when included, provides additional flavor and aroma details.

Before chasing numbers, make sure the report belongs to the product in your hand. Look for the product name, batch or lot number, sample ID, date received, date tested, and the name of the independent laboratory. The batch identifier on the package should match the COA. If it does not, you may be reading results for a different production run, and that is not the same receipt.

Also check whether the report is complete. COAs can run several pages, and the first page may only show potency. Keep scrolling for contaminant panels and the laboratory's overall pass-or-fail summary. Panel order varies, so read the section labels instead of assuming page one tells the whole story.

The potency panel lists the cannabinoids the laboratory tested for, such as Delta-8 THC, Delta-9 THC, THCa, THC-P, THCh, CBD, CBN, and others included in the testing method. Results may appear as a percentage, milligrams per gram, or both, depending on the product and laboratory. This is where you compare the lab’s measurement with the product label and confirm that the expected cannabinoid blend appears in the tested sample.

Pay attention to which cannabinoids were detected, their measured amounts, and whether any results are marked “ND,” meaning not detected above the laboratory’s reporting threshold. Small differences between the label and report can occur, but major inconsistencies deserve a closer look. Potency matters because it helps you understand what you are buying, compare products more confidently, and choose a cannabinoid profile that matches your preferences.

The pesticide panel checks for listed agricultural chemicals against the laboratory's reporting limits and applicable action levels. You will commonly see individual analytes marked ND, pass, or paired with a measured amount and a limit. The exact list and limits can vary by jurisdiction and testing program, so focus on the result beside every analyte and the panel's final status.

Residual-solvent testing looks for processing chemicals that may remain after extraction or manufacturing. Depending on the method, that can include compounds such as butane, propane, ethanol, or other solvents. A passing result means the tested levels met the report's applicable criteria. It is a cleaner answer than simply assuming a polished cart contains polished oil. A polished package cannot answer that question; the report can.

Heavy-metal panels commonly include lead, cadmium, arsenic, and mercury. Hemp can interact with its growing environment, and contamination can also enter during processing or handling. That makes this section worth reading even when the potency looks exactly right. Check the result, the reporting limit, and the pass-or-fail status for each metal. Remember that an oil COA speaks to the tested sample; it does not automatically test every possible behavior of the assembled device under every condition.

Microbial testing screens for specified bacteria, yeast, mold, and other microorganisms included in the laboratory’s testing method. Depending on the organism and test, results may appear as a numerical count—often reported in colony-forming units per gram—or simply as “detected” or “not detected.” The laboratory then compares each result with an established action limit to determine whether the tested sample passes.

Mycotoxins are different from living microorganisms. They are toxic compounds that certain molds can produce, sometimes remaining present even when visible mold is not. A full-panel COA may screen for aflatoxins and ochratoxin A, with separate limits for each substance or group.

Both sections matter because microbial contamination and mycotoxins cannot be reliably identified through appearance, aroma, flavor, packaging, or branding. Testing provides evidence that the batch was screened for contaminants that would otherwise be invisible to the person using it.

If terpene testing is included, the COA may list compounds such as limonene, myrcene, pinene, or caryophyllene along with their measured amounts. Results may be reported individually and sometimes combined into a total terpene percentage. This profile can help explain why a cart tastes or smells citrusy, earthy, fruity, bright, herbal, or spicy, giving you more context than the flavor name alone.

Terpene results can also help you compare batches or products with similar cannabinoid potency but noticeably different flavor profiles. However, they should not be treated as guaranteed proof of a particular feeling or experience, since individual responses can vary.

Terpenes provide useful flavor and formulation information, but they do not replace testing for pesticides, heavy metals, residual solvents, microbials, or mycotoxins. If a COA does not include a terpene panel, it may simply mean the analysis was not ordered or reported for that batch—not necessarily that the product contains no terpenes.

ND usually means not detected above the method's detection limit; it does not necessarily mean a substance is mathematically absent. LOD is the limit of detection, while LOQ is the limit of quantitation, the level at which the lab can measure an analyte with defined confidence. Pass means the tested sample met the criteria applied to that panel. These terms make more sense when you read the result and the corresponding limit together.

A COA should answer two separate questions: Does the cannabinoid profile match what the label promises, and did the tested batch meet the listed contaminant limits? Potency gets the attention, but the rest of the report earns the trust. Bookmark the Eighty Six Lab Reports page, match the batch number, and read every panel before you buy. Then shop the full Eighty Six lineup with the proof close at hand - no mystery oil, no vague trust-me language, just the report behind the product.