Starwest Botanicals Laboratory Testing

At Starwest, Quality is our first priority. We have made a commitment to continued excellence in product quality. To maintain our desired level of quality, we begin with the knowledge and experience of our raw material suppliers and farmers, continuing through the production process, and ultimately to the shipment and delivery of finished goods to our customers. The standards and procedures we have implemented in our quality assurance system guarantee that our requirements for our products and services are adhered to.

All Starwest Botanicals Products are Non-Irradiated and Non-ETO.

In-House Quality Control Laboratory

Starwest maintains a modern, in-house laboratory staffed by experienced professionals. We provide a complete product analysis, quickly and efficiently, with validated analytical procedures and state of the art equipment.

Our validated quality assurance testing includes:
• Organoleptic testing to ensure proper appearance, color, aroma and flavor.
• Microscopic and Macroscopic inspection for foreign matter.
• HPTLC for identification, to verify purity and authenticity.
• ICP-MS heavy metal analysis.
• Microbiology testing for pathogens such as E. coli and salmonella.
• Chemical analyses for moisture content, volatile oil, ash and acid insoluble ash.

High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC)

In compliance with cGMPs, Starwest currently uses HPTLC testing to accurately determine product identity and purity. By quantifying or comparing the distribution patterns of marker compounds in different solvent systems (unique to each plant and class of actives) against our proprietary Botanical Reference library, our laboratory personnel can confidently and accurately verify product identity and identify known adulterates.

Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS)

ICP-MS offers a very sensitive, specific and reproducible way to determine heavy metal concentration in a wide variety of products. It can identify and quantify each metallic impurity with high sensitivity; and, can be used to test for the entire Periodic Table in one analysis. ICP detection limits for most elements are in the part-per-billion (ppb) range

cGMP Compliant

Starwest complies with current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP), with protocols firmly in place for the documentation and validation of our quality control system to ensure compliance with all relevant food safety regulations, including following Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-compliant manufacturing protocols.

Allergens

We have a full allergen prevention program and have implemented tight controls in our manufacturing processes to prevent cross-contamination of our products with allergens.

More information about our testing: