How to Read Third-Party Test Reports (SGS, TUV, Intertek)

Most buyers receive a test report the same way: as a PDF, attached to an email, often unrequested and rarely read line by line. It gets filed, and the claim it supposedly supports gets repeated in a listing.

That works right up until a retailer, customs officer or marketplace compliance team asks a specific question. Then the difference between a report that covers your product and one that merely mentions it becomes expensive.

This guide explains how to read a third-party test report properly, using the structure these documents share regardless of which laboratory issued them.

What a Test Report Is For

A third-party report does one job: it records an independent laboratory’s measurement of defined properties of a defined sample, using a defined method, and compares the result against a defined limit.

Every word in that sentence is load-bearing. If any element is unclear, the report cannot support the claim you want to make.

The Sections That Matter

Red Flag One: The Sample Does Not Match Your Product

This is the most common problem, and the most consequential. A report might cover:

• a different colour than the one you sell, while pigment loading drives both processing and migration behaviour;
• a different grade of the same material family, where the formulation differs;
• a generic sample described as “baby bottle” rather than your part number;
• a material rather than the finished article, leaving decoration, adhesives and assembly untested.

Remember the principle from food-contact testing: the conclusion attaches to the sample tested. Change the sample and the conclusion needs re-establishing.

Red Flag Two: Methods and Conditions Are Missing

A report that says a product “passed food-contact testing” without naming the method and exposure conditions cannot be evaluated. You need to know:

• Which standard or method was applied.
• Which simulant was used — aqueous, acidic, fatty or alcoholic, since each extracts different substances.
• Temperature and duration of exposure, because migration increases with heat and time.
• Whether repeated-use conditions were simulated, which matters for a sterilised bottle far more than for a single-use item.

When a market’s requirements specify conditions, a test performed at milder conditions is not equivalent evidence.

Red Flag Three: “Pass” Without Numbers

A conclusion of “pass” is only meaningful alongside the measured value and the limit it was compared against. Two suppliers can both report a pass, one with a comfortable margin and one at the boundary — and the second carries more risk of failing on a future production variation.

Ask for the numeric results. It is a reasonable request, and the answer tells you something about how closely the supplier understands its own documentation.

Red Flag Four: Summaries Instead of Reports

Certificates, declarations and “compliance letters” are not test reports. They are statements that testing exists somewhere. They are useful as supporting documents, but they do not show method, conditions or measured results.

If a supplier offers only a letter when you asked for a report, ask again — and treat the distinction as information about how they handle documentation generally.

Red Flag Five: Accreditation and Scope

Laboratories are accredited for specific methods, not for everything they do. An accreditation mark on a report is worth checking against the method actually used, and against the laboratory’s declared scope.

This is not about distrusting named laboratories — it is about reading the document you were given rather than the reputation of the organisation named at the top.

Red Flag Six: The Report Belongs to Somebody Else

Reports are frequently passed along the supply chain. A report issued to another manufacturer, for another customer’s product, or for a different market’s requirements can still be a genuine document — and still not evidence about your product.

Traceability is the fix: your supplier should be able to connect a report number to a specific part, colour and batch, and to your order.

A Practical Review Sequence

1. Match the sample — part, material, colour, decoration. If it does not match, stop here.
2. Confirm the method is the one your market requires.
3. Check the conditions against real use, including repeated sterilisation where relevant.
4. Read the numbers, not only the conclusion.
5. Verify scope and accreditation for the method used.
6. Check dates and traceability — is it current, and can it be tied to your production?
7. Check completeness — does it cover every material in the article, including accessories and print?

What to Request From a Supplier

A supplier that treats this as routine is worth more than one that treats it as an imposition — the same principle that applies when you audit a factory.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which laboratory should we use?

The one your destination market recognises and that is accredited for the required method. What matters most is that the report’s sample, method and conditions match your product and market — not only the name on the letterhead.

Can we reuse a report from a previous order?

Only if nothing changed: same part, same material, same colour, same decoration, same supplier process. Any change reopens the question, because the evidence attaches to the sample tested.

Is a declaration as good as a test report?

They answer different questions. A declaration describes a formulation; a report measures behaviour. Compliance usually needs both, and the report is the one that demonstrates performance.

How often should testing be repeated?

Whenever something material changes — formulation, colour, supplier, process — and periodically otherwise, to confirm production consistency. Some markets or retailers also impose their own validity expectations.

Our report says “pass” but gives no numbers. Should we accept it?

Ask for the numeric results against limits. A pass at the boundary and a pass with margin are different risk positions, and you cannot tell which one you have without the figures.

The Bottom Line

Read the sample line first, then the method, then the conditions, then the numbers. If the sample is not your product, in your colour, the rest of the document cannot carry the claim you want to make. Ask for full reports, keep them traceable to batches, and treat documentation quality as a signal of how a factory operates — which is a theme that runs through quality control as well as compliance.

BebeFree provides material declarations and test documentation per part and colour, supported by an SGS-verified facility and certifications including FDA, CE, ISO 9001, EN 14350, CPC and CPSIA. See our certifications overview or request reports for your specification.

Related reading: Food-contact testing: migration & lab reports · Beyond BPA-free: substances to check · FDA requirements for baby bottles · Compliance & certifications guide