What Label And Batch Means

Thoughtful choices for everyday life

Label And Batch helps you find everyday products that meet clear ingredient and material criteria. Each recommendation explains why it earned a place, what we checked and what remains unknown. Start with a featured choice, or explore the named products in a reviewed brand range.

Two questions, answered separately

Does the exact product meet our ingredient or material criteria? And does the testing evidence support the claims we can make about it? Those are different questions. An ingredient-qualified product can earn a place without a testing verification, provided applicable category requirements are met and the missing verification is clearly disclosed.

We give brands the opportunity to provide independent, third-party test results and help fill gaps in the evidence. Where needed, we may also commission testing through an independent laboratory. We will make clear when testing is underway, who arranged it and what the results cover. A testing verification is awarded only for evidence we have reviewed, within the scope shown.

What we leave out

For foods, drinks and supplements, our published ingredient criteria exclude:

• Natural and artificial flavors.
• Stevia and monk fruit extracts.
• Sugar alcohols and artificial sweeteners.
• Gums, with a conditional exception for acacia when its source and processing meet our requirements.
• Fermentation-derived added citric acid and citrate salts made from it.
• Silicon dioxide and magnesium stearate used as manufacturing aids; microcrystalline cellulose as a filler; HPMC or modified cellulose as fillers or coatings.

Source-dependent ingredients, including lecithin, pectin, acacia and directly citrus-derived citric acid, must meet the specific conditions in our detailed criteria. Capsule shells are part of the formula and need their own review.

Household products follow their own category rules; an allowance for a cleaning ingredient does not automatically apply to food or supplements. These are our selection criteria, not a blanket claim that every excluded ingredient is harmful.

What the label tells you

Ingredients Approved means the reviewed formula meets our ingredient criteria, including any required source and process checks. Materials Approved is the equivalent for relevant non-food products. Testing not verified means the evidence needed for verification is still incomplete. The Label And Batch Verified seal appears only where both the ingredient or material criteria and the required evidence checks are met. Always read the scope beside it.

A useful recommendation has boundaries

We show the exact product or configuration, why it was selected, what was verified, what remains unverified and when it was reviewed. A recommendation does not extend automatically to a whole brand, every flavor or every future batch. Our role is to make those distinctions easier to see, not to promise perfection.

Explore more from a brand

Brand pages bring the named products we have reviewed into one place. Counts cover distinct formulas or products, not extra sizes, multipacks or subscriptions. Approval applies to the items listed, with testing and certification shown within their own scope.