Forged Certificates of Analysis for THCa hemp flower found on Zaza Delivery e-commerce store
Photoshopped pictures of flower and edited cannabinoid test results found in COA PDF files
Upon examining various Certificate of Analysis (COA) files from Zaza Delivery’s online hemp store, we noticed that something was off.
An example of 2 THCa products, “Lato Pop” and “OG Kush”, include a photoshopped image of flower on top of the previous image. The certificate’s content was altered from the same source COA as described below.
“OG Kush”
“Lato Pop”
You can see the sample tray and the shadow inside are the same. If you closely examine the bottom right part of the flower, you can see it’s identical to the picture above and the orange-hued flower image was overlayed on top.
The sample number, product name, and top level cannabinoid content was also edited, but the detailed Cannabinoid Analyte Test Values are identical for both products.
Whoever forged the documents, forgot to remove the QR code, which is identical across multiple sets of COAs found on Zaza Delivery’s website.
Upon scanning the identical QR code from both COAs, we’re taken to the actual legitimate COA from New Bloom Labs, which lists a different product called: “Chem #4”. Cannabinoid results and sample ID matches that of the “OG Kush” THCa product sold by Zaza, but the template formatting & design is different.
It became apparent that the COAs were most likely altered.
We reached out to New Bloom Labs to help us confirm whether these COAs are legitimate. The response we got was what we suspected.
“Regretfully, I must inform you that these reports have been fraudulently altered, and are invalid.”
- John Kerns - CEO New Bloom Labs
CEO John Kerns also informed us that fraudulent COAs have been on the rise and have started to plague the industry. A large increase in reports and inquiries about the legitimacy of COAs had started surfacing about a year ago.
New Bloom Labs has created a video to inform consumers on how to spot illegitimate Certificates of Analysis and has implemented QR codes to help combat photoshopped and forged test results.
Video - New Bloom Labs - Guarding Against Fake COAs
New Bloom Labs has been at the forefront in TN with efforts to improve compliance and lobby for stricter regulations and chain of custody tracking.
Unfortunately, until seed-to-sale tracking for hemp products is in place, anyone can distribute a legitimate COA for a completely different THCa product. It would be impossible to tell if the COA is legitimate, unless that product is tested once it’s delivered.
This is a common issue in the unregulated hemp industry. Bad actors take COAs and distribute completely different THCa flower products. Various studies from ACIL and others have confirmed that hemp products are often mislabeled, and when they are tested, the results vary wildly versus what is advertised and shown in the supplied COA.
It’s not clear if the hemp supplier who sent the products to Zaza is the one that forged and supplied the certificates or if it was Zaza themselves, nonetheless, you can examine the certificates on Zaza’s COA page and their individual THCa product pages.