It purchases dietary supplement products and other consumer goods directly from public storefronts and online retailers, contracts for testing by private laboratories, and publishes reports based on the results.

In 2008, they found 12 red yeast rice product samples to contain widely varying amounts of active ingredients and some included toxins.

In 2012, a ConsumerLab.com study reported that a tested sample of the energy drink 5-hour Energy contained about 207 mg of caffeine,[3][4][5][6] which is substantially more than its advertised claim of “about as much caffeine as a cup of the leading premium coffee,” which the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states to be generally 80–100 mg.[7] ConsumerLab.com was founded in 1999 by Tod Cooperman M.D., a graduate of the Boston University School of Medicine.

[11][12] Obermeyer worked as a Natural Products Chemist testing dietary supplements within the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), part of FDA, for nine years prior to joining ConsumerLab.com in 1999.

[17] In the analysis "[A Multi-Year Heavy Metal Analysis of 72 Dark Chocolate and Cocoa Products in the USA](https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2024.1366231)," published in Frontiers in Nutrition (2024), researchers from ConsumerLab.com and George Washington University analyzed lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and arsenic (As) in cocoa products tested from 2014 to 2022.

This underscores the need for vigilant heavy metal monitoring in cocoa products, especially those labeled organic, to ensure consumer safety.

On 9 March 2006, Dr. Tod Cooperman spoke at a House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform hearing on the Regulation of Dietary Supplements.

[24] On 26 May 2010, Dr. Cooperman reported similar problems[25] in a panel statement to a "Dietary Supplements: What Seniors Need To Know" hearing at the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging.

[32][33] On 1 June 2017, Dr. Mark Anderson spoke at the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements Research Practicum.

[37][38][39][40] In 2008, ConsumerLab.com submitted 12 red yeast rice product samples to a third party testing lab and found the supplements contained widely varying amounts of active ingredients and some included toxins.

[44] In 2011, a ConsumerLab.com study found that two of three coconut water products, commonly promoted for hydration and electrolyte balance, contained less sodium and magnesium than claimed on the label.