Speaking with us at the recent Expo West show in Anaheim, Sudberg said: “I think it’s up to the labs to be transparent about their testing results, to share everything from top to bottom with the industry, so the industry can then share that with consumers.
“The labs have to be willing to share the data, and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t. There’s nothing proprietary, you portray everything you have in order to get those final results, including lot numbers of chemicals, everything there is. And then it’s back to the manufacturers and it’s their responsibility to increase confidence with consumers.
“There’s definitely lots of reluctance among the other labs for full transparency,” said Sudberg. “It is up to us to make this the standard. Some labs have been doing this, and others who hide behind something proprietary.”
List of good labs
But until lab transparency is widespread, how can manufacturers qualify the labs out there? “My awareness is that AHPA is working on a database of labs that have been approved by a list of criteria,” said Sudberg. “That should weed out some of the bad labs that do exist in this industry that cannot play this game of full transparency.
“We need to agree that transparency is not just a buzz word for this industry. This needs to be a standard. And then consumers will eventually start to realize that this is how the industry plays the game.
“As far as the methods go, there are right methods and there are wrong methods, and there are fit for purpose methods. And every method has its limitations. DNA does absolutely have a place in this industry but it’s not for extracts.”