How Products were Selected:
Products tested represent those commonly sold and/or available nationally in the U.S. ConsumerLab.com purchased products on the open market through retail stores, on-line retailers, and direct sales. Products were not accepted directly from manufacturers.Testing Methods:
Red yeast supplements were tested in one or more independent laboratories for the following:- Identification and quantification of monacolins K (lovastatin) and KA (the hydroxy acid form) by High Performance Liquid chromatography (HPLC) and HPLC tandem mass spectroscopy (HPLC-MS/MS).
- Identification and quantification of citrinin by HPLC-MS/MS.
ConsumerLab.com may modify or use other appropriate test methods if necessary to test special product formulations.
Identities of the products were not disclosed to laboratories performing the testing.
Passing Score:*
To be "Approved" by Consumerlab.com, a product must meet the following requirements :- Meet label claims for monacolins K and KA. If no claims are made the amounts found will be reported. To be "Approved" a product also had to provide a total of at least 1.5 mg of monacolins K and KA per 600 mg of red yeast rice; a product with a lower but detectable amount may be listed as "Not Recommended."
- Have no detectable citrinin (<1ppm).
- Be in compliance with FDA labeling requirements.
* Passing scores allow for specific margins of technical error associated with each analysis. ConsumerLab.com reserves the right to disqualify a product at any time from passing its testing if it considers such product to display unacceptable variation in quality, present a safety risk, or provide misleading or inaccurate information in its labeling.
