"NSF Certified." "GMP." "Third-party tested." "Lab tested for purity and potency." These phrases and badges do real work in a buyer's mind — they signal that someone independent checked the product. But a printed badge is just artwork until you confirm it against the body that supposedly issued it.
"Lab tested" with no named laboratory, no certificate, and no registry entry is a marketing sentence, not evidence.
The three states this check produces
Registry-verified
The strongest result. The product appears in the certifier's own public registry — for example, a product listed in NSF's certified-products database under the correct company. This confirms identity, quantity of contents, and contaminant screening — though notably not effectiveness.
Brand-level, not product-matched
The company appears in the registry, but this specific product doesn't clearly match. The brand holds a certification for something — worth knowing, but not confirmation for the item in the listing.
Claimed, not verifiable
The label says "tested" or shows a badge, but no named laboratory, no lot-specific certificate of analysis, and no registry entry could be located. This is not proof of a problem — but it means the claim currently rests on the seller's word alone.
What a real certificate should contain
Ask the brand for a COA that names
- The testing laboratory and its accreditation
- The lot number — and it should match the bottle in your hand
- The test date
- Identity and potency results, plus heavy-metal and microbial screening
A certificate that doesn't name your lot doesn't describe what you're holding.
See this check on a real product.
Every LookCloser record runs this check with named, dated public sources — and shows the gaps too.