An omitted test result cannot be read as a reported absence

Record what the report actually states

Open the genuine report used for the product and inventory its stated results: the document identifier, date and version, each field label, value, unit and any qualifier printed with it. Preserve inequalities and stated limits exactly as written. This inventory is the only material the page is entitled to repeat.

Then note the fields a reader might expect that the report does not contain at all. Mark each one unreported. That is a fact about the document's scope, not a fact about the product. Do not fill the gap from another report, a supplier's message, a product category or what the team assumed was tested.

Classify every property before touching the page

Give each property one of three statuses. A stated result can be repeated within its reported context. An unreported field supports no statement at all, because the document is silent. A property under issuer clarification stays on hold until the dated written reply arrives. A property cannot move between statuses because the wording would be convenient.

Read the product page, specification table, badges and image text for conversions: phrases such as no detected contaminants, free of, zero or absent, and any table row asserting a value the report never contains. Record each occurrence with its URL. A claim implied by layout is still a claim.

Ask the issuer; do not interpret the gap yourself

Send the report issuer a precise written question: was this property tested, was it excluded from the report's scope, and what does the omission mean? File the dated reply with the report. Only the issuer can say whether silence reflects a choice about scope, and only that answer can change a field's status.

Interpreting detection limits, methods or the significance of a missing analyte is not an editorial task, and this comparison does not perform it. Where the issuer's answer raises a scientific question, route it to a qualified reviewer rather than deriving not detected from the absence of a row.

Let the substantiation rule set the publication bar

The FTC's advertising substantiation policy states the general principle that objective advertising claims need an appropriate evidentiary basis that exists before publication. An absence claim is an objective claim, and a silent report is not a basis. That principle justifies this comparison; it is not a ruling that any particular phrase is lawful.

Choose the action that matches the evidence: keep a stated result with its context, narrow wording that outruns the report, or hold and remove absence wording that has no stated result behind it. Record the affected surfaces and the owner of each correction. If the presentation of report-based claims needs a structured look, a Prism website review can examine the public wording and its evidence links within an agreed scope; responsibilities, fees and terms are confirmed before any work.

Report-status comparison sheet

Use one copy per product page and its supporting report. Classify each property before editing any wording. The result decides what the page may say; it does not validate the science or certify the product.

Worksheet entries are not submitted by Prism’s worksheet and are not saved by the site. Use record types, availability, anonymized observations, or match/mismatch results. Do not enter government identifiers, customer names or addresses, customer messages, receipt-access links, card or bank details, passwords, or keys. Send sensitive documents only through the provider’s verified secure channel.

These are temporary notes. Leaving or reloading this page may clear them. Worksheet entries are not sent automatically. If you copy notes into the consultation message and submit the form, Prism receives them as part of your request.