- 1. Exact amount for every active ingredient0 ✗
- 2. Standardization percentage stated1 ✓
- 3. Chemical form or strain named0 ✗
- 4. Dose within the trial range0 ✗
- 5. Certificate of analysis is public0 ✗
- 6. Per-serving amounts are complete1 ✓
An independent audit of gut-health supplement labels
Most gut supplements make the same claims. Few tell you what is in the bottle.
Supplement Facts Check scores best-selling gut-health supplements on six yes-or-no questions about what their labels disclose: the exact doses, the specific forms, and whether any of it can be verified. The rubric was committed in public before any product data was collected, and every ruling made since is in the commit history.
Pilot results
Of 3 products scored, 0 disclosed an exact amount for every active ingredient, and a public third-party certificate of analysis could not be located for 3. The highest score was 2 out of 6.
- 1. Exact amount for every active ingredient0 ✗
- 2. Standardization percentage stated0 ✗
- 3. Chemical form or strain named0 ✗
- 4. Dose within the trial range0 ✗
- 5. Certificate of analysis is public0 ✗
- 6. Per-serving amounts are complete1 ✓
- 1. Exact amount for every active ingredient0 ✗
- 2. Standardization percentage stated1 ✓
- 3. Chemical form or strain named1 ✓
- 4. Dose within the trial range0 ✗
- 5. Certificate of analysis is public0 ✗
- 6. Per-serving amounts are complete0 ✗
The six criteria
Each one scores 1 or 0. The maximum is 6. A product using a generic ingredient at a studied dose scores the same as one using a trademarked equivalent; price, taste and brand reputation are not scored at all.
Check the work
Every score links to a dated screenshot of the label it was read from. Every dose range links to the trial it came from on PubMed. The dataset, the rubric and every revision to either are in a public repository, released into the public domain. If a score is wrong, the evidence to show it is one click away, and corrections are welcome.
The author owns a supplement brand that competes with products scored here. That is stated plainly, along with what was done about it, in the conflict-of-interest statement.