Reading The Labels on CBD Products: What Do the Numbers Mean?

On your journey to find high-quality CBD at an affordable price, understanding the product label is a must. That’s why we want to break it down for you.

For CBD users who don’t know how to read the product label, the confusing numbers and unclear product descriptions can only make matters worse. Most often it’s easier just to walk away and not buy anything.

Reading the labels on CBD products won’t be difficult once you understand what it all means.

What To Look For on a High-Quality CBD Product Label

Many first-time CBD users are wanting to know how they can be sure that the CBD product they are buying is high-quality. Is it possible to know this just from the label?

The label is a start. The label should have quality information, and direct you to a place where you can get even more information on the product and the brand. If the label doesn’t tell you anything about who you are buying it from or what you are buying, run!

Here are the top things that you should look for in a high-quality CBD product label:

Branding & Packaging: While branding and packaging isn’t everything, it certainly is telling of how professional the company is, and how much they are willing to invest into their product and their customers. If you don’t want something made in a garage, you want to watch out for professional labeling and branding.

Total CBD Concentration in Milligrams: Every CBD product should tell you exactly how much CBD is in the product as a whole. In America, this will typically be on the very front of the label under the brand and product name and labeled in milligrams. It is standard in the CBD industry to include the total amount of CBD contained in the package in this location of the label. While the serving information can be found under Supplement Facts.

Serving Size/Dosing Information: A truly pharmaceutical-grade CBD product will give you all of the supplemental facts for a serving size, including the amount of CBD per serving, the number of servings in a package, and a recommended dosage. This is helpful when comparing pricing among high-quality CBD products as well.

Broad-Spectrum, Full-Spectrum or Isolate: It’s important to locate on the label exactly what type of CBD product you are looking at. Is it a “Full-Spectrum,” “Broad-Spectrum,” or “CBD Isolate?”

• Full-Spectrum CBD includes legal levels of THC.
• Broad-Spectrum CBD includes no THC.
• CBD Isolate consists of nearly pure CBD with no other cannabinoids and terpenes.

3rd Party Test Results: It is common practice for high-quality CBD manufacturers to include a QR code that will take you to their website where you can find the unbiased, 3rd-party lab test results. These should be made public and be easily accessible. There have been many studies showing that CBD labels are often inaccurate, checking the test results will help you verify accuracy as well as quality.

Manufacturing Location: You should be able to find where the CBD product was manufactured quickly on the label. If they don’t want to be found, there is likely a good reason for that.

Manufacturing Date: CBD is a natural, therapeutic product that will degrade over time. The manufacturing date is important to know how old a product is. CBD tinctures and edibles should be consumed within months.

Batch or Lot Number: Advanced state-licensed adult-use or medical cannabis systems mandate batch and lot numbers on CBD products packaging. Providing a lot or batch number is sign of accountability and high-quality product. If there’s a recall, the manufacturer can identify which batch or lot. Without a batch and lot number, no one can tell when or where it the product was made.

Ingredients: Beyond CBD and THC, your CBD product will contain more ingredients and the label should accurately describe those ingredients. Be sure that these are quality ingredients that agree with your standards. The ingredients may be organic, all-natural and simple, or they may not be.

What Do The Numbers on CBD Product Labels Mean?

There are a lot of important numbers when you look at a high-quality, pharmaceutical-grade CBD product label. We briefly listed out a few of these important numbers, but let’s dive in a little deeper at how these numbers can benefit you as a consumer.

Total CBD Concentration (1500mg, 3000mg etc): 

Why do CBD products list the CBD concentration on the label for the entire package?

This has been a common question for consumers who are hoping to know exactly how much CBD is in each serving.

It can be confusing to look a 30ml bottle of CBD oil labeled with “3000mg of CBD.” This isn’t standard for most products in the health and wellness industry. But, this is extremely important information when you are verifying the test results of a product.

The 3rd-party lab test results will tell you how much CBD, THC and other compounds are in the entire product. Use this number to compare the test results and ensure that this brand is telling you the truth about what’s in your product.

Serving Size/Dosing Information:

How do I know how much I should take, and how much CBD will be in each serving?

High-quality CBD products are adding the serving information to the back of the label under Supplemental Facts. They should clearly define what 1 serving is. For gummies, it could be 1 or 2 gummies. For oil, it may be .5ml or 1ml.

If your product doesn’t have this information readily available, you can do the math yourself by dividing the total CBD concentration by the product size, for example a 30ml bottle of CBD oil with 3000mg of CBD in it would give you 100mg of CBD per 1ml dose.

There is no standard dose of CBD, it will vary across all products and brands, so you want to ensure that you know how much CBD you will be taking with each serving. Your desired dose will vary by condition, weight, route of administration, and other factors.

Need help getting started? Enlist the help of our custom Dosage Journal and Calendar. Finding and tracking your CBD dosage is easier than ever. Download the PDF to your phone or print it for a physical copy. Use it with our High-Quality CBD Oil Spray Tinctures and take back your health today.

Understanding CBD mg/ml or per serving can help you when comparing prices across the industry.

Product Size: 

All products should tell you how much of the product has been packaged. For example on a liquid or cream it may say 3.4 fl oz, an oil may be sold in 30ml bottles, and high-quality CBD gummies may come 60 pieces to a bag. Finding the product amount can help you figure out how long this product will last you and how many mg of CBD will be in each serving, if they haven’t put that on the label. This is helpful information when comparing products and pricing.

3rd Party Test Results: 

If you found the unbiased, 3rd-party lab test results for the product, you may be overwhelmed trying to understand what you are looking at.

The test results should cover product effectiveness: CBD potency, THC level, and terpene concentrations. It should also cover product safety, reporting if there are any residual solvents, heavy metals, aflatoxins, pesticides and more found in the product.

In order to read these results, you want to find the list of different cannabinoids, chemicals and solvents. Then you will find the column to the right, labeled mg/g. The numbers listed in this column should match what is on the label. For example, if the product label says there is 1500mg of CBD in it, you should find a minimum of 1500mg of CBD. It may not be 1500 exactly, but it should be very close. If the product label says there is THC, there should be less than .3 THC.

N/D means not detectable and should be the response for THC in broad-spectrum products and CBD isolate.

If you have any questions about the test results or accuracy thereof, you should be able to easily access the company and get an answer within 48 hours.

What is a Good Dose of CBD? How Many mg Should I Take?

There is no standard dose of CBD, it will vary across all products and consumers. Your desired dose will vary by condition, weight, route of administration, and other factors.

CBD oil dosing is typically measured in mg/ml or mg/serving, and can depend on a number of different factors including:

• your weight
• your condition
• your unique body chemistry
• other medications you may be taking
• how you consume your CBD
• what other compounds of the hemp plant are included in the CBD product
• the concentration of CBD in the product
• the serving size of the CBD product

According to this 2017 review of clinical data, a great deal of research has shown that CBD is a relatively safe treatment and there isn’t one universal dosage of CBD for everyone. Instead, it shows that all mammals with an endocannabinoid system can respond differently to different dosages of CBD.

Most of the studies on humans dose anywhere between 20 and 1,500 milligrams (mg) per day.

There are a lot of variables that go into finding the accurate dosage of CBD oil for your unique benefits. Before you try CBD for the first time, we recommend that you talk to your doctor about an appropriate dosage to start with, and any potential risks, especially if you are taking other medications or are pregnant.

If your doctor doesn’t provide a recommendation and you are choosing to try CBD anyway, it would be best to start with a smaller dosage and gradually increase it. This could mean starting with 25 – 50mg of CBD per day, and seeing how you feel. If it doesn’t seem to be helping, increase this amount by 5 – 10mg. Continue this until you feel that it’s effectively treating your symptoms.

Once you determine the right amount of CBD per serving is right for your unique needs, you will be able to easily determine what product and CBD concentration is best for you to buy.

For help keeping track of your dosages, download our custom CBD Dosage Journal & Tracker. Start with the minimum dose in the left-hand column of the Milligram Grid. As you learn how your body responds, increase your dose incrementally.

When it comes to CBD, consistency counts. To get the most out of your CBD oil, it’s important that you find a dosage that works for you and take it consistently.

*Consult your physician for a professional opinion, especially if taking other medications.