A food supplement cannot be sold in France without first being declared to the DGCCRF, the consumer-protection authority, through the Teleicare portal: composition, doses, labelling and claims are filed before the first box ships. Manufacturing itself must follow food-hygiene law (HACCP) and the good manufacturing practices of the sector. CALM AUTHORITY is made in France by France Galéniques, a specialist manufacturer in Hyères (Var), and each finished batch is tested by two independent laboratories: Microsept for microbiology, Capinov for heavy metals and PAHs. Every batch is traceable by the lot number printed on its bottle.
1. The first batch in a few markers
2. From batch to capsule: the four steps
Step 1 · Raw materials arrive with their papers
Seven ingredients go into the blend: green-tea extract standardised to 98 % L-theanine, rhodiola extract (3 % rosavins, 1 % salidroside), saffron extract (2 % safranal), magnesium bisglycinate (20 % magnesium), vitamin B6 as pyridoxal-5'-phosphate, microcrystalline cellulose and magnesium salts of vegetable fatty acids. Each one enters the batch record with its own supplier lot number and expiry date, so that any capsule can be traced back to the drum it came from.
Step 2 · Weighing, blending, filling
On 27 March 2026 the seven ingredients were weighed to the batch record, 30.70 kg in total, and blended until homogeneous. The blend was described as brown-beige, light and free-flowing with pink undertones, the colour the saffron brings. On 30 March it was filled into clear size-0 HPMC capsules; 64,800 were produced. The average capsule weight, 566 mg, was checked and recorded as compliant on 1 April: 474 mg of powder plus the weight of the empty shell.
Step 3 · Two laboratories, three reports
A sample of the finished batch went to Microsept, an independent laboratory in Le Lion-d'Angers, which tested it on 8 April 2026 against the European Pharmacopoeia criteria for plant-based products: total aerobic count, yeasts and moulds, bile-tolerant Gram-negative bacteria, E. coli, Salmonella. A second sample went to Capinov for lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury by ICP-MS, and for the four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that European law caps in supplements containing plant extracts, because they can form when plants are dried. That report was validated on 12 May 2026.
Step 4 · Bottling, lot number, traceability
On 9 April the capsules were filled into 120 ml PET bottles, 60 per bottle, each printed with the lot number and the best-before date, and packed for shipping the next day. Under Regulation 178/2002 the manufacturer must be able to trace every input one step back and every output one step forward: that is what the batch record does. The number on your bottle is the key to the whole file, from raw-material lots to laboratory reports.
3. Four numbers from the workshop
4. The first batch, in black and white
An analysis report is a one-page document, easy to read once you know its columns: the parameter tested, the method, the result, the criterion or legal limit. Here is what the two reports on batch FG-0326-14 say, line by line.
| Parameter | Criterion / limit | Result, batch FG-0326-14 |
|---|---|---|
| Total aerobic germs / g | ≤ 100 000 | < 1 000 · satisfactory |
| Yeasts and moulds / g | ≤ 10 000 | < 100 · satisfactory |
| Bile-tolerant Gram-negative bacteria / g | ≤ 10 000 | < 100 · satisfactory |
| E. coli / g · Salmonella / 25 g | Absent | Absent · absent |
| Lead | ≤ 3,0 mg/kg | 0,043 mg/kg |
| Cadmium | ≤ 1,0 mg/kg | 0,006 mg/kg |
| Mercury | ≤ 0,10 mg/kg | < 0,005 mg/kg (below quantification limit) |
| Arsenic | No EU limit for supplements; monitored | 0,072 mg/kg |
| Benzo(a)pyrene | ≤ 10 µg/kg | 1,7 µg/kg |
| Sum of 4 PAHs | ≤ 50 µg/kg | 11 µg/kg |
Sources: Microsept analysis report no. 3427613 of 13 April 2026 (microbiology, European Pharmacopoeia 2.6.12 and 2.6.31, category C criteria) and Capinov test report 2026_6.4471.2 validated on 12 May 2026 (ICP-MS for metals, GC-MS for PAHs). Legal limits from Regulation (EU) 2023/915. The full reports are available on request to any customer quoting their lot number.
5. The label and the scale
A batch record has a second use: it lets you check that what was weighed matches what the label promises. 64,800 capsules make 32,400 daily doses of two capsules. Divide each weighed quantity by 32,400 and you get the amount per dose.
| Ingredient | Weighed for the batch | Per dose (2 capsules) | On the label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green-tea extract, 98 % L-theanine | 9,90 kg | ≈ 306 mg | 300 mg |
| Rhodiola extract | 9,70 kg | ≈ 299 mg | 300 mg |
| Saffron extract, 2 % safranal | 0,97 kg | ≈ 30 mg | 30 mg |
| Magnesium bisglycinate, 20 % Mg | 6,48 kg | ≈ 200 mg, i.e. 40 mg Mg | 40 mg Mg |
| Vitamin B6, P-5-P 56 % | 0,15 kg | ≈ 4,6 mg, i.e. 2,6 mg B6 | 2,55 mg B6 |
| Cellulose · anti-caking agent | 2,91 kg · 0,58 kg | ≈ 90 mg · 18 mg | Excipients |
Quantities from the batch record for FG-0326-14 (blend of 27 March 2026). The small rounding differences reflect standard weighing practice; the point is that the weighed quantities, the number of capsules and the average weight agree with the label to within a few percent.
6. True or false?
| The claim | Verdict | The nuance |
|---|---|---|
| "Made in France means French ingredients" | False | It means the last substantial transformation happened in France. Saffron is not grown at scale in France, rhodiola comes from northern latitudes, green tea from Asia. What matters is that each ingredient is documented and controlled on arrival. |
| "Supplements aren't controlled like medicines" | True | There is no marketing authorisation. That is precisely why the manufacturer's own controls, and the brand's willingness to show them, matter more than in pharmacy. |
| "A lot number is just for recalls" | Partly | It is the key to the whole file: raw-material lots, batch record, laboratory reports. Any customer can ask what sits behind theirs. |
| "Heavy metals are only a problem in cheap products" | False | Plants absorb what is in their soil, whatever the price of the box. Measuring every batch is the only way to know: here, lead sits at 1.4 % of the legal limit. |
| "A result below the quantification limit means zero" | Not quite | It means the instrument could not measure any amount above its floor, here 0.005 mg/kg for mercury, twenty times below the legal limit. It is the most reassuring answer a laboratory can give, but it is a measurement, not a philosophical zero. |
Educational content about how a food supplement is made and controlled; not medical advice.
7. And day to day?
Turn your bottle over and find the lot number, next to the best-before date. It is the thread that leads back to everything on this page. If you want the reports for your batch, write to us with that number and we will send them. And when you compare brands, ask them the same three questions we have answered here: where is it made, who tests each batch, can I see the analysis. The answers, or their absence, say more than any label. To go further, read how to decode a label in three lines and what a brand is and isn't allowed to say.
8. Sources
- France Galéniques (2026). Dossier de lot FG-0326-14, CALM AUTHORITY, pilulier PET 120 ml, 60 gélules — batch record, order OF 26-013, blend of 27 March 2026.
- Laboratoire Microsept (2026). Rapport d'analyse n° 3427613, Le Lion-d'Angers, 13 avril 2026 — microbiology, European Pharmacopoeia 2.6.12 and 2.6.31, category C criteria.
- Capinov (2026). Rapport d'essai 2026_6.4471.2, validé le 12 mai 2026 — lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury (ICP-MS) and four PAHs (GC-MS).
- DGCCRF. Compléments alimentaires : déclaration obligatoire (Teleicare) et contrôles. economie.gouv.fr.
- European Parliament and Council (2004). Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs — HACCP obligations for food business operators.
- European Parliament and Council (2002). Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 — Article 18: traceability at all stages.
- European Commission (2023). Regulation (EU) 2023/915 on maximum levels for certain contaminants in food — lead (3.0 mg/kg), cadmium (1.0 mg/kg) and mercury (0.10 mg/kg) in food supplements; benzo(a)pyrene (10 µg/kg) and sum of four PAHs (50 µg/kg) in supplements containing botanicals and their preparations.
- European Commission (2015). Regulation (EU) 2015/1933 — introduced the PAH limits for food supplements containing botanicals (former point 6.1.13 of Regulation 1881/2006).
- European Pharmacopoeia. Chapter 5.1.8, microbiological quality of herbal medicinal products for oral use, category C.
- Natac. Moodreal® — quality documentation and certifications (ISO 9001, ISO 14001, GMP, FAMI-QS).
A ritual you can trace back to its batch: discover CALM AUTHORITY, made in France and tested by independent laboratories.