How To Read A COA

Pet owners are increasingly more aware of what they are feeding their pets because of the direct correlation it has on their health! From new all-natural dog foods to herbal supplements, pet owners want clarity.

And we completely agree with this philosophy - especially when it comes to CBD for pets. Whether its CBD oil for cats or CBD dog treats, pet owners should know not only what ingredients are in these products but also the quality of CBD that's in them.

Not All CBD Is Created Equally

The Hemp Plant is very unique and still unknown to a lot of people. However, as more research is done on Hemp, Cannabis, and CBD we’ll learn more about each.

However, we will try to do our best to help you understand it now. We like to think of the hemp plant like an ice-cream sundae.

Yup, that’s right, like the ice-cream.

(The example is a bit of a stretch, but we are trying to help as many people understand the basic concepts. In no way are we suggesting CBD/Hemp/Cannabis is ice-cream nor has any health related benefits or negative effects of ice-cream. It is rather just a simple comparison.)

There are many parts to the hemp plant, just like there are many ingredients to the sundae.

And from the hemp plant, many things can be created. Similarly, depending on how we make our ice-cream sundae, it can either be called just ice-cream or a full-blown sundae.

Types Of CBD

There are 3 general types of CBD in the market today: Isolate, Broad Spectrum, and Full Spectrum. Each of these is made differently and includes different parts of the hemp plant.

Isolate

Isolate is just the CBD, nothing else. Think of this like just the vanilla ice-cream in our comparison. Vanilla bean ice-cream is good, but doesn't hit the spot.

Similarly, CBD alone is good and interacts with our body with healthy benefits, but it misses out on what is known as the Entourage Effect. (Explained more below)

Broad Spectrum

Broad Spectrum is CBD from the hemp plant, but also includes other cannabinoids and terpenes that contribute to the EndoCannabinoid System (ECS).

Think of these additional cannabinoids and terpenes like toppings such as sprinkles, chocolate chips, shredded coconut, nuts, and fruit. This is the perfect blend of sugary goodness and pinch of healthy toppings.

This is also where the Entourage Effect comes into play. Studies show CBD is much more effective with the other cannabinoids and terpenes. Even just a small amount of CBD-G/V/A can enhance the effect of CBD on the ECS.

C’mon, we all know that ice-cream with toppings is better than without!

Full Spectrum

Full Spectrum is CBD, all the cannabinoids & terpenes, and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). THC is known to be a psychoactive substance in the hemp plant, if taken in certain doses.

This is like adding dark-chocolate syrup on top of our previous version of the sundae that already has chocolate chips and sprinkles. Although dark chocolate has some health benefits, taking it in access can lead to sugar rushes! THC has shown to have some health benefits, but it can also cause psychological changes.

This is why Ahimsa Pets has our products made with Broad Spectrum CBD Oil. It provides the best mix of compounds for pets.

Reading A COA

So now that we know what we're looking for, we can read a COA and know what we want and don’t want. We want the ice-cream with toppings, not with the dark-chocolate syrup and not without the toppings.

COA's typically have different tests, or assays, available to perform on any CBD product being tested.

While some pet CBD companies only chose to test for their CBD potency, Ahimsa Pets chooses to go further and take 5 tests on our products: CBD potency, terpene profile, microbial analysis, mycotoxin analysis, and residual solvents.

Cannabinoids:

This test checks if CBD alone is present in the sample, or if its fellow cannabinoids are also present. This would be CBD-A, CBD-V, CBN, or CBG. Sometimes only some will appear and in low trace amounts, but a little bit can go a long way in the entourage effect.

Terpenes:

This test is similar to the cannabinoid test. Again, Isolates only show CBD. But some Broad Spectrum and all Full Spectrum products will show varying types of terpenes present when tested for.

Microbials/Mycotoxins/Residual Solvents:

These tests vary significantly in terms of what substances labs test for in each assay. It would be too complex to tell you exactly which compounds to check that were tested. So as long as you see it being tested on the COA for your pet CBD product, and it passes, it’s a good thing!

The Wrap Up

This was a very simple and general overview on what to look for on your pet's potential CBD company’s COA.

The CBD market is unregulated right now and anyone can do anything, and that's unfortunately what's happening right now.

We want pet parents to know what exactly they should be on the lookout for so they can provide their pets with the best CBD pet products available on the market.

Ahimsa Pets strides to take a lead in the pet CBD market to aid pet parents with their pet's health choices - because that matters.

We try our best to stand by our principles of transparency, honesty, and clarity.

If you would like to know more about CBD and your pet, click here!

(The example is a bit of a stretch, but we are trying to help as many people understand the basic concepts. In no way are we suggesting CBD/Hemp/Cannabis is ice-cream nor has any health related benefits or negative effects of ice-cream. It is rather just a simple comparison.)