Sheni Labs · Experts and laboratories
Who stands behind a verdict
Sheni Labs is a desk-verification lab, but it is not a desk alone. Behind every verdict are three layers: a pool of independent experts who review the evidence in their own discipline, a scientific committee that owns the method and signs off on contested cases, and accredited partner laboratories that test a product when the public record is not enough.
1. The expert pool
Independent specialists engaged case by case, paid for their time, never by the companies whose products they review. Each expert declares conflicts of interest before an assignment and is named on the verdicts they contribute to. The pool covers:
Drug–supplement interactions, dose and form
Whether a dose is effective and safe, which chemical form is the right one, and what the product must not be combined with.
Contaminants, upper limits, adulterants
Heavy metals, residual solvents, mycotoxins, undeclared pharmaceuticals, plant toxins; national and EFSA upper levels.
INCI, allergens, restricted substances
Formulation review against the Cosmetics Regulation annexes, allergen labelling, preservatives and UV filters, claims substantiation.
Botanical identity and traditional products
Genus and species, plant part, extraction ratio, known toxic constituents, EMA HMPC and WHO monographs.
Evidence and populations
Grading the evidence for each claim; who should not use the product — pregnancy, children, kidney and liver disease.
CLP, biocides, detergents
Hazard classification, safety data sheets, biocidal actives, mixing hazards, child safety.
Status in each jurisdiction
Classification as medicine, supplement, cosmetic or chemical; registration and notification requirements in Georgia, the EU, the UK, the US, Canada, Australia and Japan.
The product at the counter
Real-world use, counselling points, labelling in practice, pharmacist-reported problems.
Certificates and accreditation
Whether a certificate of analysis is credible: methods, limits, the laboratory’s ISO/IEC 17025 scope.
Population risk
Exposure, vulnerable groups, market surveillance, the public-health weight of a finding.
Experts are engaged from Georgia, France, Switzerland and the wider PHIG network — the Georgian Medical Journal’s reviewer base, David Tvildiani Medical University, Accréditation Sans Frontières and partner institutions — and by open call. Join the pool →
2. The Scientific Committee
A standing committee of five to seven members appointed by the Public Health Institute of Georgia for a three-year term. It owns the method and approves changes to it; decides contested verdicts and rights of reply; reviews every “Not recommended” before publication; approves the annual report. Members serve in a personal capacity, declare their interests annually and receive no payment from product companies.
| Seat | Discipline | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Chair | Public health | Public Health Institute of Georgia (ex officio) |
| Member | Pharmacology / toxicology | Appointment in progress |
| Member | Cosmetic science | Appointment in progress |
| Member | Herbal and traditional medicine | Appointment in progress |
| Member | Regulatory affairs | Appointment in progress |
| Member | Laboratory quality (ISO/IEC 17025, ISO 15189) | Appointment in progress |
| Member | Consumer representative | Appointment in progress |
Names, affiliations and declarations of interest are published here on appointment.
3. Partner laboratories
When a verdict needs a measurement — identity, potency, contaminants, undeclared pharmaceuticals — Sheni Labs commissions it from an accredited laboratory. A partner laboratory must hold ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation for the tests concerned, from a national accreditation body under the ILAC arrangement; the accreditation and its scope are checked in the body’s register before every assignment and cited in the report. The lab works with laboratories of these types:
| Type of laboratory | Scope needed |
|---|---|
| Food supplement and nutraceutical testing | Identity and potency of vitamins, minerals, botanicals and oils; heavy metals; microbiology; residual solvents; screening for undeclared pharmaceuticals (sibutramine, sildenafil analogues, corticosteroids, stimulants) |
| Cosmetic and perfume testing | Restricted and prohibited substances, allergens, preservatives, heavy metals, microbiological quality, stability and challenge tests, SPF and UVA |
| Herbal and traditional product testing | Botanical identification (macroscopic, microscopic, DNA barcoding), marker compounds, aristolochic acid, pyrrolizidine alkaloids, pesticides, mycotoxins, heavy metals |
| Household chemical and consumer product testing | Composition against the safety data sheet, biocidal active content, volatile organic compounds, hazard classification support |
| Georgian accredited laboratories | Local sampling, screening and food-chemical analysis under GAC accreditation (ILAC MRA) |
Invitation to laboratories
Sheni Labs invites accredited laboratories — in Georgia, the EU, the UK and beyond — to join its partner network. Conditions: ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation for the relevant tests, from an accreditation body signatory to the ILAC arrangement; willingness to quote per assignment; results reported to Sheni Labs whatever they show. Partner laboratories are listed on this page with their accreditation body and scope once verified, and are cited by name in the reports that use their results. Write to info@accreditation.ge with the subject “Sheni Labs partner laboratory”, attaching your accreditation certificate and scope.
Join the expert pool
Sheni Labs invites qualified specialists — pharmacologists, toxicologists, cosmetic chemists, pharmacognosists, clinicians, regulatory professionals, pharmacists, laboratory quality specialists, epidemiologists — to join the pool. Assignments are occasional, remunerated per case, and carried out under the published method, with a declaration of interests. Send a short CV, your discipline and your jurisdictions of expertise to info@accreditation.ge with the subject “Sheni Labs expert pool”.
Governance in one line
The Public Health Institute of Georgia appoints the committee and funds the lab; the committee owns the method; the experts apply it; the laboratories measure what the record cannot show; and every name, interest and accreditation is published.
