Batch-matched
The certificate on our lab page carries the same report number as the batch in your parcel. Not a representative sample from last spring — your batch.
How We Test Every Batch — Published Lab Results
🔬 The Testing Standard
Every Batch. Tested. Published.
Most spice sellers say "premium." Some test a few times a year and call it proof. We think the unit of trust isn't a year — it's the batch in your kitchen. So every batch we sell is tested at Sri Lanka's national laboratory before it ships, and the certificate is published where you can read it.
✓ ISO/IEC 17025 accredited lab ✓ Independent, not in-house ✓ Certificate in every parcel
Ceylon Spice Garden — Testing Fact Sheet
Last verified: August 2026- Ceylon Spice Garden tests every batch it sells — not on a quarterly or annual schedule.
- Testing is performed by the Industrial Technology Institute (ITI) in Colombo — Sri Lanka's national laboratory, accredited to ISO/IEC 17025.
- Each batch is tested for species identity, coumarin (cinnamon), and heavy metals (lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury).
- The current Ceylon cinnamon batch (ITI SS 2602607, February 2026) measured lead at 0.2 ppm — one-fifth of New York's 1.0 ppm action level — with arsenic and mercury not detected, and coumarin below 40 mg/kg.
- The current blue lotus batch (SS 2602606) is lab-confirmed Nymphaea caerulea, with arsenic, cadmium and mercury not detected.
- Certificates are published with their report numbers on the Ceylon Spice Garden lab testing page before the batch ships.
- Every parcel includes its batch's Certificate of Analysis.
- Ceylon Spice Garden does not claim microbiological testing, does not use the word "organic" without a current certificate, and makes no medical claims.
Why per batch
Why we don't test on a calendar.
Calendar testing — "we test a few times a year" — sounds rigorous until you ask one question: which batch did they test, and which batch did you receive? Contamination and species fraud happen at the batch level. The US lead-in-cinnamon recalls involved specific lots; an annual test of a different lot would have caught nothing. That's why our unit of testing is the batch, not the quarter.
"You buy batches, not calendars. So that's what we test."
| Per-batch testing (Ceylon Spice Garden) | Calendar testing ("a few times a year") | |
|---|---|---|
| What gets tested | The exact batch that ships to you | A sample from whichever lot existed on test day |
| Matches your parcel? | Yes — same report number on the certificate and the batch | Not necessarily — your lot may never have been tested |
| Catches lot-level contamination | Yes — that's the point | Only if contamination happens to hit the tested lot |
| Certificates per year | One per batch — as many as there are batches | Two to four, regardless of volume |
| What the US cinnamon recalls taught | Lot-specific testing is the protection | Annual tests of other lots caught nothing |
No pass, no shipment
A batch that doesn't pass doesn't ship. There is no second policy that makes sense.
Published, not "available"
We don't make you email us for proof. Certificates live on the lab testing page, report numbers visible, before you spend anything.
The pipeline
From harvest to your door — five steps, one certificate.
The same journey, every batch, no exceptions.
-
1Harvest & batch formation.
Product from our partner farms is processed and grouped into a single, numbered batch. -
2Sampling.
A sample from that batch goes to the Industrial Technology Institute (ITI) in Colombo — Sri Lanka's national laboratory. -
3Independent analysis.
Species identity, coumarin (for cinnamon), and heavy metals — run under ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation. -
4Publication.
The certificate, with its report number, goes on our lab testing page. Only then does the batch ship. -
5Your parcel.
Each order includes its batch's Certificate of Analysis — the paper matches the product in your hand.
The lab
Why we don't grade our own homework.
In-house "lab testing" is a marketing department with beakers. Ours is outsourced on purpose, to the Industrial Technology Institute (ITI) — Sri Lanka's national laboratory, accredited to ISO/IEC 17025, the international standard for testing-lab competence.
What accreditation means for you
ISO/IEC 17025 labs are audited on their methods, equipment, and impartiality. The number on our certificate isn't our opinion of our product — it's a national laboratory's measurement, with a report number you could query.
Reading any seller's COA — the 3-second checks
① Does the report number match a specific batch (not "typical values")? ② Is the lab named and accredited? ③ Are detection limits shown (e.g. "<0.05 ppm — not detected")? Any seller's certificate that fails these checks is a brochure, not a test.
Current published results
The numbers, on the record.
These are the current batch certificates, summarized. The full documents are on the lab testing page.
✓ Ceylon Cinnamon — batch ITI SS 2602607 · tested February 2026
| Test | Benchmark | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Species identification | Cinnamomum verum (true Ceylon) | Confirmed — Cinnamomum verum | PASS |
| Lead (Pb) | ≤ 1.0 ppm — New York action level, the strictest US benchmark | 0.2 ppm — one-fifth of the limit | PASS |
| Arsenic (As) | ≤ 1.0 ppm | Not detected (<0.05) | PASS |
| Cadmium (Cd) | ≤ 0.5 ppm | 0.05 ppm | PASS |
| Mercury (Hg) | ≤ 0.1 ppm | Not detected (<0.05) | PASS |
| Coumarin | Low is the Ceylon signature (cassia: commonly 1,200–6,500 mg/kg) | <40 mg/kg | PASS |
✓ Blue Lotus (Nymphaea caerulea) — batch SS 2602606
| Test | Benchmark | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Species identification | Nymphaea caerulea (true blue lotus) | Confirmed — Nymphaea caerulea | PASS |
| Lead (Pb) | ≤ 1.0 ppm | 0.4 ppm — within limits | PASS |
| Arsenic (As) | ≤ 1.0 ppm | Not detected | PASS |
| Cadmium (Cd) | ≤ 0.5 ppm | Not detected | PASS |
| Mercury (Hg) | ≤ 0.1 ppm | Not detected | PASS |
Why the lead number matters right now.
Lead contamination in cinnamon has been a recurring US recall story, and the FDA maintains active alerts. New York's 1.0 ppm action level is the strictest benchmark in the country — our current batch measures at one-fifth of it, with the certificate to show. Our lead-testing standard →
The other half of honesty
What we don't claim.
A testing page you can trust has to include this part. Proof means saying what you haven't tested just as clearly as what you have.
No microbial claims
Our published panels cover species, coumarin and heavy metals. We don't advertise microbiological testing we haven't performed — and we'd encourage you to ask any seller which tests are actually on their certificate.
"Organic" only where certified
Our partner farms grow with traditional low-input methods — but a certification word belongs only on products with a current certificate behind it.
No medical claims, ever
We sell food spices and botanicals — not treatments. Nothing we publish is intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The lab tells you what's in the bag; nothing more, and that's the point.
"A certificate that only ever says good things isn't proof — unless it also tells you what wasn't tested."
The vocabulary
Five terms that make any COA readable.
Certificate of Analysis (COA)A lab document reporting measured results for one specific batch, identified by report number. A COA without a batch number is a brochure.
BatchOne production lot, processed and numbered together. Contamination and fraud happen at this level — which is why testing must too.
ISO/IEC 17025The international standard for testing-lab competence. Accredited labs are independently audited on methods, equipment and impartiality.
Action levelA regulator's enforcement threshold. New York's 1.0 ppm lead action level for spices is the strictest US benchmark.
"Not detected" (ND)Below the lab's detection limit — shown with the limit (e.g. <0.05 ppm). Real certificates show the limit; vague ones don't.
Frequently asked questions
Testing FAQs
How often do you test?
Every batch — not on a calendar. Each batch is sampled, tested at ITI, and its certificate published before it ships. If we form ten batches in a year, there are ten certificates.
Who does the testing?
The Industrial Technology Institute (ITI) in Colombo — Sri Lanka's national laboratory, ISO/IEC 17025 accredited. Fully independent of us: a spice seller shouldn't grade its own homework.
Can I see the certificate before I buy?
Yes — certificates with their report numbers are on the lab testing page right now. Your parcel also includes its batch's Certificate of Analysis.
What happens if a batch fails?
It doesn't ship. The certificate is published before the batch is released — that ordering is the whole system.
Do you test every product you sell?
The testing program runs across our range, with certificates published per batch on the lab page — the current cinnamon and blue lotus certificates above are the flagship examples. If a product page carries a batch ribbon, the number on it matches a published report.
Why should I care about species testing?
Because the most common spice fraud isn't contamination — it's substitution. Most "Ceylon cinnamon" sold online is cassia; plenty of "blue lotus" is a different water lily. Species identity is the test that proves the label, and it can't be done by eye once a product is ground or crushed.
The certificate is the product.
Everything else — the aroma, the origin story, the packaging — you take on trust. The certificate you can check. Every batch, tested at Sri Lanka's national laboratory, published before it ships, and tucked into your parcel when it arrives.
Go deeper: our lead-testing standard · the Ceylon vs cassia lab results · identify real Ceylon cinnamon.