COA
Common COA red flags
These patterns do not prove fraud. They mean the document cannot do the job a reader is asking of it. Absence of a field is not the same as a failing result.
What this tells you
- A representative COA reused across lots, or a blank lot field.
- A laboratory that cannot be contacted except through the seller.
- A percentage with no method, wavelength, or chromatogram.
- “Identity: conforms” with no observed mass.
- A verification code that only loads a file on the vendor’s domain.
What this does not tell you
- That the material is unsafe or safe. An unreadable certificate is an information failure.
- That a named laboratory did not do work. It means you have not been shown work you can check.