Clean Label Project (CLP) Certification
Clean Label Project (CLP) partners with an independent third-party laboratory, Ellipse Analytics (EA). EA is ISO 17025* accredited by ANAB. EA’s scope of accreditation covers the testing methods and specific product categories in the CLP certification standards.
EA’s methods and findings have been independently validated by other accredited third-party laboratories, universities, government agencies, and media organizations.
*ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation is a third-party verification and attestation that the accredited body (in this case, EA for its laboratory) has demonstrated its competence, capability, and impartiality when facilitating its testing under validated and controlled processes, procedures, and methods.
Clean Label Project Certified products are performed by Ellipse Analytics using Agilent and Sciex instrumentation via rigorously validated testing methods.
The Clean Label Project provides category benchmark data and/or regulatory standards to help consumers interpret the raw data and see how it compares to the broader market.
Many laboratories specialize in testing only one or two types of products—such as water, soil, produce, or dietary supplements. By analyzing the same materials every day, they develop deep expertise in those specific areas. However, if they use the same methods to test a different type of product, the results may not always be accurate.
Ellipse Analytics (EA) – the lab Clean Label Project uses – has validated its scope of accreditation for each product category certified under the Clean Label Project, ensuring that results are accurate, relevant, and trustworthy for consumers.
When a lab tests a product, results are often reported using two key terms:
LoD (Limit of Detection), and LoQ (Limit of Quantification).
This distinction is important because some blogs, articles, or third parties report results based solely on the Limit of Detection (LoD) rather than the Limit of Quantification (LoQ), which reflects accurate measurement. Reporting values below the LoQ can make the results seem more precise and reliable than they actually are, potentially leading to confusion or misinterpretation of the data.
Ellipse analytics LOQ’s are typically in the low teens to single digit parts per billion (ppb).
Clean Label Project replicates the real consumer experience. Our certification team purchases products directly from grocery stores and online retailers, just as consumers would. This approach is important because it ensures we are not testing cherry-picked or specially prepared samples, but the same products available to the public.
For Clean Label Project, test results are first analyzed by a chemist and subsequently verified by another chemist. Results that fail to meet the thresholds established in our standards undergo additional verification, including a review of prior test results, an assessment of other failures within the same batch that may have influenced the outcome, and any other relevant factors. Results may be retested to confirm their accuracy.
Clean Label Project (CLP) offers multiple certifications tailored to specific contaminants, each grounded in the most stringent industrial and environmental standards. Our certification criteria are informed by a combination of California’s Proposition 65, European Union regulations, U.S. federal and state requirements, and our proprietary category-specific data.
Clean Label Project certification takes into account both serving size and daily exposure to industrial and environmental contaminants. Products like infant formula, baby food, and pet food are held to stricter standards than something like an adult snack bar. That’s because babies, infants, and pets get most of their calories from these foods, so their potential exposure to contaminants is much higher relative to their size and diet.
Serving size is a key consideration in determining how much of a particular contaminant a consumer is likely to consume from a product.
Using sugar as an example, a family-size bag of cookies could contain 630 grams of sugar in total — far above the recommended daily intake. However, the stated serving size might be three cookies, which contain about 14 grams of sugar — an amount below the recommended daily limit.
While the objective is to reduce contaminants as much as possible, excluding serving size from the overall analysis can misrepresent actual exposure and potentially cause disproportionate concern.
The difference between parts per million (ppm) and parts per billion (ppb) is exponential: 1 ppm equals 1,000 ppb. These units show how much of a substance is present relative to the total amount—ppm measures larger amounts, while ppb measures much smaller, more diluted quantities.
Think of it as the difference between a drop of food coloring in a backyard swimming pool versus a large lake. The drop is the same, but in the lake it is much more diluted. The drop in the swimming pool represents parts per million (ppm), while the drop in the lake represents parts per billion (ppb). When it comes to the impact on human health, that difference is monumental!
All contaminants that are evaluated by Ellipse Analytics for Clean Label Project are measured in parts per billion.
While contaminants like pesticides, phthalates, and bisphenols can potentially be eliminated entirely, heavy metals naturally occur in the Earth’s crust, making trace amounts unavoidable. The goal is to minimize all contaminants as much as possible, striving to bring them as close to zero as feasible.