Our Laboratory Partners

Our laboratory partners

TESTme is an independent testing service working with carefully selected laboratory partners. Different tests require different expertise, so we choose the laboratory best suited to analysing each type of sample.

This means we’re not tied to one provider or a single way of testing. We can work with specialists who have the right processes, technology and quality standards for the test you’ve chosen.

Food intolerance testing

Your blood spot sample is analysed by our European laboratory partner, which is certified to ISO 9001 and ISO 13485. ISO 13485 is an internationally recognised quality-management standard for the medical device industry.

The laboratory uses microarray technology based on ELISA principles to measure food-specific IgG antibodies.

What your results can tell you

Food-specific IgG results show your antibody responses to the foods tested, giving you a more focused place to begin exploring your diet.

The test isn’t a medical diagnosis and doesn’t test for food allergy or coeliac disease. These require different investigations through your GP or another appropriate healthcare professional.

We believe good support begins with being clear about what a test measures, how it can help and what comes after.

The NHS position is there’s limited evidence for the accuracy of commercial home food intolerance tests, and doesn’t recommend them for diagnosing food intolerance. The British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology says food-specific IgG testing is not a valid diagnostic test for food allergy.

We agree with both of those, this isn’t a diagnostic test, and we don’t present it as one.

What it is, is a starting point. Instead of randomly eliminating foods by trial and error, you get a shortlist of foods worth looking at first. The real test is how you feel once you’ve made some informed choices based on what you know. We find that most people notice they feel much better when they’re able to identify, reduce or even eliminate certain foods for a while, with the option to try reintroducing when they feel ready.