How we evaluate peptide testing facilities
The PAL Testing Evidence Score (v1) measures how much a testing business verifiably publishes about its facility, analytical scope, quality reporting and ordering. It is separate from, and calculated differently to, Peptide Ad Lab’s supplier rankings.
Principles
- Evidence from the company’s own website. Every fact links to the page it came from and shows the date we checked it.
- Not found is not “no”. A criterion we could not find earns no points and is labelled “Not found in public sources”.
- Published statements, not audits. We do not send samples or inspect laboratories. A higher score means more is published and checkable, not that results are more accurate.
- Money never moves the score. Claiming a profile and PAL Pro are separate from the evaluation. Neither changes a finding, a score, eligibility or order.
- Ownership, credentials and Pro are separate. “Claimed by company” means PAL confirmed who manages the profile. Accreditation counts only when stated with the accreditor or certificate number, and earns the verification points only when PAL finds it in the accreditor’s public directory.
Scoring (30 points, shown out of 10)
Facility transparency 6 points
| Criterion | Points | What counts |
|---|---|---|
| Street address published | 2 | A street address (not a PO box, registered agent or mailing address) is published on the company's own site. |
| Address identified as the testing facility or sample intake | 2 | The site ties an address to the laboratory or to where samples are received. |
| Legal entity named | 1 | The operating company's legal name is published. |
| Named scientific staff | 1 | At least one scientist or lab lead is named. |
Analytical scope 9 points
| Criterion | Points | What counts |
|---|---|---|
| Purity testing (HPLC/UPLC) | 2 | Chromatographic purity testing is offered. |
| Identity testing (method named) | 2 | Identity confirmation is offered and the method is named (e.g. LC-MS, MALDI-TOF). Mass spectrometry counts. |
| Quantity / net content | 2 | Quantitation of the amount in the vial is offered. |
| Endotoxin | 1 | Bacterial endotoxin testing is offered. |
| Culture-based sterility (e.g. USP <71>) | 1 | Compendial or culture-based sterility testing. PCR or rapid screens are listed but do not earn this point. |
| Heavy metals / elemental | 1 | Heavy-metal or elemental analysis is offered. |
Quality & reporting 10 points
| Criterion | Points | What counts |
|---|---|---|
| Method detail documented | 2 | The site documents how analyses are run (instrument, column, detector, reference standards or validation), not just a technique name. |
| Accreditation stated with accreditor or certificate number | 2 | An accreditation such as ISO/IEC 17025 is stated with the accrediting body or certificate number. 'Pending', 'aligned' or 'compliant' statements do not count. |
| Accreditation found in the accreditor's public directory | 3 | PAL found the accreditation in the accrediting body's public directory, or a verified owner submitted it and PAL confirmed it there. |
| Public report verification lookup | 2 | Anyone can check a report's authenticity by ID or QR code. |
| Sample report published | 1 | An example report or COA can be viewed. |
Ordering transparency 5 points
| Criterion | Points | What counts |
|---|---|---|
| Concrete pricing published | 2 | At least one concrete price is published. |
| Turnaround time published | 1 | A concrete turnaround time is published. |
| Online ordering, submission or quote link | 2 | An online order, sample submission form or quote request is available. |
Score = points ÷ 30 × 10, rounded to one decimal. Ties are ordered by the number of documented testing services, then alphabetically.
Who is ranked
A country page ranks a business only when all of the following hold:
- It is a laboratory that performs the analyses itself.
- It is operating and accepts samples from outside customers.
- Its own website places a facility in that country — a city or street address that is not a registered-agent or mailing address. Accepting samples from a country does not qualify.
- It documents at least two of purity, identity and quantity testing.
Everything else is listed without a number, in a separate section, with the reason on its card.
Business types
- Laboratory — Performs the analyses in its own laboratory.
- Testing coordinator — Takes orders and sends samples to one or more partner laboratories; it does not perform the analyses itself.
- Manufacturer offering analytical services — Synthesises or sells peptides and also offers analytical testing; not an independent testing laboratory.
- Contract testing network — Multi-site contract research / testing group. The specific site performing peptide work is not published.
- Institutional analytical service — University or research-institute service unit.
- Planned / pre-launch facility — Announced or in pre-launch and not confirmed as operating. Services, prices and turnaround times are labelled as planned, not currently available. Not ranked.
Sterility and rapid screens
Only compendial or culture-based sterility testing (for example USP <71>, typically 14 days) earns the sterility point. PCR, DNA-based or other rapid microbial screens are listed as a separate service.
Multiple locations
Each business has one canonical profile under its primary confirmed facility. Other facilities are listed on that profile, and the business appears on each country page where it has a confirmed facility.
Corrections
Businesses can claim their profile for free to request corrections or submit evidence and credentials. PAL reviews every submission. Reviewed 2026-09-30.