The American Kratom Association (AKA) is a consumer-run, non-profit organization dedicated to protecting kratom. It acts as a voice for the Americans to defend their right to use the herb for its merits.
For this purpose, it undertakes measures to avert a bad name from the kratom community.
One of the ways to fulfill its aims is to ensure that users have access to pure and organic kratom, which is effective as well as safe.
The Good Manufacturing (GMP) Standards Program is a useful tool to achieve this.
The AKA GMP Standards Program is a means to validate whether a retailer is following the standard level of processing devoted to the well-being of their staff and customers.
As a consumer, you should only buy kratom from sellers who abide by these fundamental manufacturing standards. The following are the vendors endorsed by AKA GMP Standard Program.
Next, we’ll shed some light on why was AKA made and why is there a need for vendors to get endorsed by AKA GMP standard program.
AKA Approved Vendors List
The American Kratom Association made the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) Standards Program to help guarantee the safety and quality of Kratom items.
In particular, before a Kratom vendor can get AKA certification, they need to present evidence regarding their handling and assembling techniques.
Vendors that are verified are also required to pass audits every year, alongside paying a yearly re-certification expense of $1,000. Only the most credible vendors are chosen to be part of the program.
Following are the Kratom vendors who have been certified by the American Kratom Association.
1) Kraken Kratom
Kraken Kratom was the first Kratom vendor that was officially verified by meeting the guidelines of the AKA GMP Standards Program.
Primarily, they earned their validation through enduring FDA adherence and by putting a great deal in customer satisfaction, security, quality, and consistency.
2) Spectrum Kratom
Range Kratom’s way to deal with Kratom welcomes you to find the full range of strains and product varieties in them.
E.g., this Kratom vendor uses Eco-friendly, minimalist packaging, and gets the majority of their Kratom from a credible source.
Spectrum also offers an unconditional money-back warranty over its products.
3) Etha™ Natural Botanicals
Etha has AKA verification and makes Kratom usable in a tablet form. Moreover, the majority of their items have an assurance that they originated from 100% entire leaf Kratom.
That assurance additionally guarantees it is lab-tested and picked by the vendor’s harvesters.
Etha revolves around extraordinary blends and premium mixes made to suit specific needs. You can save 10% by paying with Green money, check or money order.
4) Urban Ice Organics
This verified vendor sells Kratom in numerous forms: powders, capsules, liquids, and a subscription box.
This discounted Kratom box usually contains about $200 worth of items, yet it sells for just $99.99 with added delivery charges.
5) Left Coast Kratom
Left Coast Kratom gives unlimited discounted Kratom samples. You can likewise get free same-day shipping with no base buying amount.
Also, Left Coast comes with a Kratom rewards program. They furthermore offer limited COD UPS delivery for the individuals that are hesitant to pay for Kratom on the web.
6) Phytoextractum
Phytoextractum is among the new adds to the verified vendors and the Kratom market, as well.
They are offering incredible kratom products to the sellers who might positively be helping the users in relieving of the different ailments, for example, tension issues, stress, back pain, and others.
7) PurKratom
PurKratom is a Florida based organization that stocks diverse Kratom strains in different forms. The brand has put forth a valiant effort to ensure that clients fulfil all their Kratom needs from their site.
They’ve kept a wide range of strains of all the various types available. We need to concede that they are up there among the best Kratom vendors concerning item options and preference ranges.
8) Christopher’s Organic Botanicals
Christopher’s Organic Botanicals have been selling kratom for a long time in the United States. They show up among the genuine vendors of Kratom strains.
Numerous Americans have switched to kratom because of the medical advantages related to it. The organization has noticed the appeal for the item and now benefits the market with top-notch products.
Purchasers can get their required strain and product online quickly.
They are among a couple of venders of kratom show some effort to guarantee that they bring to benefit the best items to the market as a method for addressing the requirements of various kratom clients.
9) Quantum Kratom
Quantum Kratom is an Austin-based kratom merchant with retail stores the whole way across the U.S.
This Texas distributer works an online store where clients can leave away with quality botanicals without being harsh on their wallets.
Established by the fitness coach and performer Jeremy Steding, Quantum Kratom is an organization that takes confidence in things like excellence, genuineness, and worth.
Their items are lab-tested, and the organization is at present, enlisted for the American Kratom Association GMP Standards Program.
10) Happy Hippo Herbals
The organization is situated in a territory of Boise, Idaho. It is a young organization that has less presentation on the online kratom market as it originated in 2013.
As indicated by personal reviews, Happy Hippo Herbals is a decent organization for getting Kratom.
Happy Hippo Herbals are set on the first-class scale for selling the best quality, great kratom instead of phony items.
Their kratom items are flawlessly acquired from rich sources and are shown to be beneficial and useful.
11) SK Herbalist
SK Herbalist began as a low maintenance home business, run by an energetic organic lover.
In the following years, it has concurrently developed into one of the leading US-based kratom sellers, extending from a one-person organization to a business with more than 25 workers and numerous facilities.
After the apprehended salmonella episode, SK Herbalist has gone to considerable lengths to protect its clients against lethal contamination.
They employed a third-party GMP consultant and have verified that their items are untouched and protected.
12) Super Speciose
This organization has turned out to be extremely famous, given its CBD oil and kratom items. Both Individual and wholesale buyers can get their relevant items from this legitimate online seller.
The kratom items offered by this organization are popular among kratom fans. Their products come in various potencies ranging from 20g to 5kg.
They are additionally known for selling powders that are available in different strains and veins. Their items are reasonable, well-packed, and easily accessible.
13) The Kratom Syndicate
Kratom Syndicate is a new online seller of Kratom. As they are new, numerous individuals might be worried about their quality and security.
Kratom Syndicate is an online seller who represents considerable authority in premium-quality Kratom powders and other home-grown extracts while offering a proper scope of products.
The Kratom Syndicate site offers quick delivery, excellent client care, and focused costs. This makes them an alluring online vendor for a vast number of Kratom clients.
This site is proficient and straightforward to use, making the buying procedure speedier and more comfortable.
Pending Participants
- Kratom Wave
- Arbol organics
- Authentic Kratom
- Bedrock MFG
- Choice Botanicals
- Clean Kratom wellness center
- Evergreen tree
- Florascience
- The golden monk
- Kingdom kratom
- Kratom krates
- Laughing lion herbs
- Natures home remedy
- Natural ginger corp
- Otie’s botanicals
- SK Herbalist
Why Was AKA Made?
The American Kratom Association (AKA) was established in 2014. The purpose of its set up was to restore full customer access to kratom and to ensure that the American users can decipher for themselves, what they choose for a prosperous life.
The corporation is determined to fight anti-kratom legislation throughout the U.S with the support of its donors.
The American Kratom Association (AKA) aims to build trust and confidence in its donors and believes that they reserve the right to know how and where their money is being spent.
They think that Kratom is a natural palliative used for centuries to alleviate pain, eliminate fatigue and help against anxiety and depression.
AKA aims to fight the spread of misinformation about Kratom that has formed a strict regulatory environment.
The goals of American Kratom Association are:
- To formulate and characterize a community of responsible users.
- To become a noticeable voice for the citizens who are generally overlooked.
- To provide the consumers, regulators, legislators and the general public with accurate knowledge and education with regards to Kratom and its vital role.
- To support and promote scientific research efforts.
- To protect natural resources like kratom, advocating the reforestation efforts.
In a nutshell, the Association remains one of the top legitimate firms, a proficient campaign group, and an advertising firm, attempting to withstand endeavors to prohibit the use of kratom.
AKA GMP Standards Program
The program was launched in Nov 2018 and included a list of kratom vendors who abide by the firm’s manufacturing and processing standards, authorized by a third-party examiner.
According to AKA chairman, Dave Herman, this endeavor would enable the users to formulate informed choices on the kratom goods they buy.
The American Kratom Association (AKA) believes that measures should be taken to keep kratom risk-free and protect the consumers from despoiled kratom strains.
AKA recognizes the fact that most vendors compete to offer the highest quality goods and while encouraging their efforts, the association favors strict standards for quality control.
This would guarantee customers to be contented with the kratom products they buy.
AKA also acknowledges that reputable retailers don’t taint their kratom with other substances, which is a concern raised by the FDA.
AKA as such undertakes careful monitoring to assure customers that the products they buy are pure and fulfilling the processing and packaging guidelines.
The corporation is focused on conforming to the use of kratom with the standards set by the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA).
AKA is focused on working with dietary specialists and legislators as well as the FDA to prove its claims regarding kratom are correct.
It invites the FDA to work with the vendors and advertisers to plan out a set of courses that will be useful to the shoppers.
To achieve this, the agency has launched its quality control program based on Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) for Kratom vendors.
AKA GMP Standards Program is formulated to improve the legitimacy and safety of Kratom products sold in the U.S.
AKA believes that different packaging procedures, as well as products not lab-tested, have caused impure Kratom sold to the users in the past, and this contamination corresponds to Kratom being perceived as a risky substance.
Hence, to guarantee the availability of genuine Kratom and to protect the customers from polluted products, the AKA made this program.
In order to become an AKA GMP-qualified vendor, manufacturers must pursue a particular set of rules and pass an official audit.
Why Do Vendors Need AKA GMP Certification?
The FDA has given several warnings about the hazards related to the use of kratom.
This is due to the FDA’s perceived novel dangers associated with how kratom items are produced, sold, and utilized; both recreationally and for medicinal use.
Another FDA’s reservation has been the selling of contaminated kratom with very high amounts of salmonella, causing diseases that have led to the administration’s first recall order.
In a warning report published in April 2019, the FDA assessed 30 different Kratom products from diverse sources, for heavy metals.
The report found significant amounts of lead and nickel, exceeding the safe exposure percentages.
According to this, regular kratom users are at a considerable risk of lead and nickel accumulation.
The CDC also issued a report right after the FDA’s warning that Kratom was unsafe for usage because of the risk of heavy metal poisoning.
In this report, it was stated that overdose deaths detecting kratom on the postmortem toxicology testing, occurred in 11 states over a period of one year, from June 2016 to July 2017. This further increased to 27 states from July to December 2017.
Furthermore, the CDC, FDA, as well as the Public Health & Regulatory officials in multiple states, conducted an outbreak investigation of salmonella infection in May 2018.
Soon after, the FDA released a detailed report about salmonella infection caused by kratom, including a list of recalled kratom products that might be contaminated by salmonella and heavy metals.
Conclusively, there have been measures undertaken by public health-related organizations like the FDA, CDC, etc.; continually releasing warnings about kratom’s potentially hazardous effects on health.
However, their claims have been backlashed by the advocate groups of kratom, to either be inappropriate or misinterpreting the actual cause of deaths associated with kratom.
This is one of the reasons why the AKA has launched its GMP standard program, other points are discussed below.
- Customer protection – The Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) standard program aims to improve the safety of kratom products for the consumers.
- GMP certification ensures the vendors will comply with FDA guidelines.
- To avoid a bad reputation associated with vendors selling salmonella-affected products.
- To bring forth vendors, who do not bring a bad name to kratom society by selling low-grade, contaminated kratom.
- Vendor certification plays a crucial role to support AKA’s efforts in protecting kratom.
- GMP certification will naturally set betters standards for the industry.
- The certification increases the safety of the kratom industry further, as opined by Herman in a news release.
- Improves customer satisfaction and confidence in the products they are purchasing to be safe, as per the association’s guidelines.
According to Herman, GMP is an ongoing project in which vendors will undergo an annual audit to ensure compliance with its standards.
This allows the customers to have a regularly updated list of qualified vendors at hand, that they can trust for purchasing their products.
AKA’s Work Against FDA’s False Advisory About Kratom
The AKA accused the FDA of manipulating, obscuring and presenting incomplete scientific claims relative to their peer-review regarding kratom.
They claimed that the FDA had not diligently verified the death reports associated with kratom.
They further rant that the documentation was released to influence the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to add kratom on the government’s Schedule 1 list of prohibited substances.
Along with presenting inaccurate and misleading information, the FDA has also been accused of deliberate errors and omissions for the cause of deaths and wrong autopsy and toxicology reports.
On behalf of more than 3 million kratom users, AKA subsequently started a Formal Dispute Resolution (FDR) petition with the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Its purpose was to challenge the irrational scientific claims of the FDA, requesting for correction of disseminated information that they claim to be inaccurate.
Similarly, AKA also stood up and submitted an 11-paged letter along with a petition signed by more than 40 thousand users demanding the DEA to maintain the existing regulatory structure for the natural botanical.
Ever since, more often than not, AKA has stood up for the rights of kratom users and vendors with legitimate information and evidence.
These efforts have gained AKA quite a lot of support from Kratom-lovers worldwide.
AKA has thus, augmented the potential for kratom to be utilized for the betterment and wellbeing of kratom supporters within the United States.
The Final Verdict
Although kratom’s constituent alkaloids do stimulate the pain receptors in the brain, as other analgesics do, kratom isn’t a medication, nor is it a narcotic.
Kratom is definitely not a genetically-engineered medication. It is, however, an attributed plant.
Kratom is a blessed herbal supplement that is utilized by a huge number of Americans as a component of their self-care, medicinal or recreational routine.
The AKA supports endeavors of law enforcement agencies to remove any perilous and unlawful medications including illegal medications, artificially produced analogs of kratom alkaloids, and dangerous substances that are blended in with kratom.
AKA’s vendor validation program and the struggle to keep Kratom legal is driven on the right path to aid in providing the best Kratom to the users under proper and unbiased terms and conditions set by the FDA.
Thank you AKA for all the work you do, especially Mac Haddow. I watched your webinar yesterday and i found it to be very helpful and informative. Thank you!