What a test report actually covers

Ask a supplier whether their product is certified and you will usually receive a folder of PDFs within the hour. The folder is reassuring. That is what it is for.

A test report answers one narrow question about one sample against one standard. Most of the value is in working out which question it answered, because it is rarely the question you asked.

Three checks on every report

Whose certificate is it

Every report names a certificate holder and usually a manufacturer. These can be different companies, and neither has to be the company quoting you.

If the name on the report is not your supplier, you are holding somebody else's paperwork. It may be their parent, their customer, or the factory they buy from. Ask which, and ask why they are sending it to you.

Which standard, and which parts of it

This is where most misreading happens.

A document titled a CE Declaration of Conformity states which European legislation the product is being declared against. That may be the restriction of hazardous substances directive and its amendment, in which case the testing covered a list of restricted substances such as lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium and certain phthalates. That is a real result and a real pass.

It is also a result about chemical content only. It says nothing about mechanical strength, electrical safety, or whether the product meets any medical device requirement. Different legislation, different assessment, and for some products a notified body has to be involved before a CE mark is lawful at all.

So read past the letters CE to the directive named underneath. A declaration is a claim made by the manufacturer. The test report behind it tells you what the claim was actually based on.

Which sample

A report covers the model number printed on it. A set of nine reports covering nine models tells you nothing about the tenth model in the catalogue.

Take the supplier's price list and tick off every item that appears on a report. The items left unticked are the ones to ask about, and they are frequently the ones you were planning to buy.

Component-level reports

Well-run food-contact testing breaks a product into its parts and tests each under the rule that applies to that material. A stainless drinking vessel might be assessed with the body under the provisions for stainless steel, the lid under the plastics rule for its particular polymer, and the straws under the silicone rule.

That is the correct way to do it, and it is a good sign when you see it.

It also means coverage stops at the parts listed. If the product has a gasket, a printed surface or a coating and none of those appear in the report, they were not tested. Melamine items in particular are often left out of a set while the polypropylene items in the same range are covered.

What a pass actually means

A pass means the sample submitted met the limit in the named test on the date of the test. It does not mean the product is fit for its purpose, that the current production run is the same as the sample, or that the tooling has not changed since.

It is evidence about a sample. Continued conformity is the manufacturer's responsibility, and it is worth asking how they verify it between tests.

The gaps worth hunting for

• Physical claims with no physical test. If a product is sold on a load rating, a transfer board or a folding table for example, there should be a load test. Chemical reports do not cover structural claims. This gap is common and it is the one most likely to hurt someone.
• Range gaps. Items in the catalogue with no report at all.
• Age. A report predating the current tooling or a change of material supplier is weaker than its date suggests.
• Wrong market. European chemical paperwork does not answer a United States, Canadian or Latin American question. The destination market sets the requirement.

Is the lab credible

Look for accreditation on the report itself. A laboratory accredited under a recognised scheme, or operating under a mutual recognition arrangement between accreditation bodies, produces results that other parties will accept. An unaccredited report is a document rather than evidence.

The accreditation number is usually printed in the header or the footer, and it can be checked against the accreditation body's own register.

Who this is actually for

In most markets the obligation sits with the party placing the product on the market, which is usually the importer rather than the factory. Your supplier's file is useful input. It is not your compliance position.

Work out what your destination market requires first, then read the supplier's paperwork against that list. Doing it the other way round means letting the supplier decide what you needed.

Questions to ask

1. Is the certificate holder on this report the company I am buying from?
2. Which directive, regulation or standard does this cover, and which clauses?
3. Which model numbers are covered, and which items in your range have no report?
4. For a product sold on a load or strength claim, where is the physical test?
5. Is the laboratory accredited, and under which number?
6. What changes since this report would require retesting, and how do you track them?

The short version

Read the standard, not the logo. Check the holder's name against your supplier's name. Tick the model numbers against the price list and ask about everything left over. A product sold on strength needs a strength test, and a chemical report is not one.

Verified September 2026. Next review March 2027. Conformity requirements differ by product and destination market and are amended. Confirm your obligations for your market before relying on any supplier document.