A quality check and a health benefit are not the same thing. Here is how to tell which question a supplement claim answers.
We came to raise the standard. That means we do not get to use “tested” as a shortcut for “this will work for you.”
Before you buy, ask one blunt question: tested for what?
A test answers a specific question
A quality test can check what is in a product. A study in people asks a different question: what happened when people took it?
Those are not the same result. NIH explains that quality seals do not guarantee a product is safe or effective. Effective means it does what it claims to do.
One example. Two different claims.
Teaching example, not a product result:
Claim A: “A lab checked the amount of an ingredient.”
Claim B: “This supplement will help me sleep.”
Claim A does not prove Claim B. You still need evidence for the sleep claim. You also need to know whether the supplement fits your health and medicines.
Do not let a brand swap one answer for the other.
What our testing claim actually covers
WIC’s quality page states that outside labs check potency and purity on selected batches, not every batch. Potency means the amount or strength. Purity checks look for unwanted substances.
Packet checks are separate. Cameras check each personalized packet as it is filled and sealed. A person reviews anything flagged.
Neither check is a promise of a health result. Read the testing limits on our quality page. Ask us what a claim covers before you order.
Ask this before you buy
“What was tested, who did the test, and how often? Does the evidence check product quality, or does it study a health benefit?”
Save that question. Use it with us, too.
If you take medicines or manage a health condition, bring the ingredient list to your clinician or pharmacist before starting something new.
We are here to raise the standard. Clear answers include the limits.