Free C of A explainer for supplement ingredients

What you get

• A short summary of what the document is, which ingredient or product and batch it covers, and the overall picture.
• The key facts pulled out: supplier, batch or lot, manufacture, expiry or retest date, issue date and who signed it off.
• Every test with its limit and result, each marked ✓ within limit, ! can't be confirmed, or ✕ outside limit, with a line on what the test tells you.
• Points to note, such as results out of specification, a missing signature or date, a retest date coming up, or units that look wrong.

Heavy metals

Rocky compares heavy metal limits and results with the GB maximum levels for food supplements: lead 3.0 mg/kg, cadmium 1.0 mg/kg (3.0 mg/kg for supplements made mainly from dried seaweed) and mercury 0.10 mg/kg. These apply to the finished supplement as sold, so an ingredient result is a guide rather than a pass or fail for your product.

Specifications too

Upload a product or ingredient specification and Rocky lays out each parameter and its limit in plain English, so you can see what you are agreeing to before you approve a supplier.

How to use it

1. Create a free account with your email address. You sign in with a link, with no password or card needed.
2. Open the Explain a document tab.
3. Choose C of A or specification and upload the PDF or a photo, up to 6 pages.
4. Get the overview in about 30 seconds.

It doesn't use any checks. Each account can explain up to 20 documents a day.

An explanation, not an approval

Rocky explains the document as written. It doesn't verify the testing or approve the material, so raise anything flagged with your supplier and keep your own approval process.