Costa Mesa, CA-based Alkemist Labs was made aware of the issue when several industry contacts notified them that they had received an email offering raw herbs for sale that contained lab reports and Certificates of Analysis (C of As) purporting to show identity of several varieties of Ginseng and of Schisandra.
“We have seen two lab reports that copied the formatting, layout and wording of our template that I created nearly 20 years ago,” said Sidney Sudberg, LAc, DC, President & CSO of Alkemist Labs. “This report format is unique to Alkemist Labs, with my words very carefully and specifically chosen and placed.”
Elan Sudberg, CEO of Alkemist Labs, told us that the copycat C of As use language that is very close to that used in a Alkemist Labs C of A, and the format is identical. “The lab report looked like the logo was blurred out or removed, like they used our reports but didn't want to reveal that it was our lab so they chopped the top off,” he said.
“The Alkemist Labs C of A is valuable because of the reputation we have built for accurate testing and deep knowledge of the products we test,” he said. “It is disturbing to see our distinctive report template used anonymously by other companies as it may mislead people to think we did the testing when we did not.”
The company has now moved to clear up any confusion by stating that:
- All Certificates of Analysis issued by Alkemist Labs will contain the following: “Copyright © Alkemists Pharmaceuticals 2016. All rights reserved.”
- Clients may request to use lab reports issued by Alkemist Labs in their marketing materials, but must obtain written permission from the company. Changes or redactions are NOT permitted, nor may the Alkemist Lab name be removed or blurred.
“Educate the industry and make our policy very, very clear”
“We don’t know which lab issued the copycat C of A,” Elan Sudberg told us. “We have not contacted anyone nor do we plan to at this time. I prefer to use this as an opportunity to educate the industry and make our policy very, very clear. Our reports have a note at the bottom clearly stating that they cannot be modified. We stand firm in any request for our C of As to be used in marketing that no modifications are permitted, no exceptions.
“We all know that C of A’s have been used in ways they should not have in this industry, particularly in the past, but we are going to fight tooth and claw to keep that from happening with ours.”
The company has posted examples of its test reports on its website. The following links show examples of Alkemist’s microscopy, HPTLC, HPLC and GC reports.