International Hydrogen Standards
IHSA has determined the following criteria guidelines for the standards of hydrogen products. These guidelines are based on currently available published literature
Packaged Hydrogen Water:
Provides at least 0.5 mg per 1 L serving
Passes safety test for toxins/heavy metals/contaminants
Maintains minimum concentration of 0.5 mg/L
pH must not exceed 9.5
No false or damaging marketing claims associated with hydrogen or with the product that could harm the credibility of hydrogen research or the therapeutic hydrogen industry. This includes but is not limited to academic fraud, legal violations, injunctions by governing bodies (e.g., USFDA, EPA, FTC., etc.), repeated dissemination of false information, or other forms of misrepresentation, that could harm the credibility of hydrogen research or the therapeutic hydrogen industry. Such determinations will be made by the certifying entity
Specialty Beverages:
Provides at least 1.0 mg per 500 mL serving
Passes safety test for toxins/heavy metals/contaminants
Maintains minimum concentration of 0.5 mg/L
pH can range from 3 to 10
No false or damaging marketing claims associated with hydrogen or with the product that could harm the credibility of hydrogen research or the therapeutic hydrogen industry. This includes but is not limited to academic fraud, legal violations, injunctions by governing bodies (e.g., USFDA, EPA, FTC., etc.), repeated dissemination of false information, or other forms of misrepresentation, that could harm the credibility of hydrogen research or the therapeutic hydrogen industry. Such determinations will be made by the certifying entity.
*However, each beverage will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. e.g., a product might contain stimulants, vitamins or other potentially harmful ingredients where even a volume of 500 mL could be too much.
Hydrogen-Water Generating Devices:
Provides at least 0.5 mg per liter serving regardless of source water composition being used in the device (e.g. RO water or mineral water with a pH range of 5.8 to 8.6, current water guidelines)
Passes safety test for toxins/heavy metals/contaminants
Produces the minimum concentration of 0.5 mg/L
pH must be in range 5 to 9.5 regardless of source water composition (e.g. RO water or mineral water with a pH range of 5.8 to 8.6)
No false or damaging marketing claims associated with hydrogen or with the product that could harm the credibility of hydrogen research or the therapeutic hydrogen industry. This includes but is not limited to academic fraud, legal violations, injunctions by governing bodies (e.g., USFDA, EPA, FTC., etc.), repeated dissemination of false information, or other forms of misrepresentation, that could harm the credibility of hydrogen research or the therapeutic hydrogen industry. Such determinations will be made by the certifying entity.
Examples
A product can meet the standard of 0.5 mg per liter in many ways. For example, each product simply needs to provide a 0.5 mg dose by ingesting a maximum of 1 L of said product. Any volume of less than 0.5 L would require a minimum concentration of 0.5 mg/L as explained below. A 250-mL can at 0.5 mg/L only provide 0.125 mg of H2 per can. However, by ingesting one liter (1 L) of the product (i.e. four cans), the total provided dose of H2 would reach 0.5 mg. Thus, the manufacturer should recommend drinking 4 servings per day on the label. Similarly, a 500-mL serving at a concentration of 0.5 mg/L would only provide 0.25 mg of H2 per serving.
Ingesting 1 L of the product would provide the required 0.5 mg of H2, and the manufacturer would recommend at least two servings per day. Additionally, if a product provides a concentration of 0.8 mg/L with a volume of 750 mL, the manufacturer still needs to recommend drinking 1 L per day (e.g. 1.34 servings). Alternatively, if a 250-mL package had a concentration of 2 mg/L, then each serving would provide the required 0.5 mg of H2, and the only one can need to be recommended. Similarly, a 500-mL serving at a concentration of 1 mg/L, would require the consumer to ingest 1 serving per day. Lastly, products or hydrogen water devices whose concentration is less than 0.5 mg/L, and thus cannot provide a dose of 0.5 mg of H2 per liter of product, cannot be certified.
Additional products being considered by IHSA for the establishment of certification standards
Hydrogen Cosmetics
Hydrogen Bathing Devices/Showers
Hydrogen water-generating additives
Oral ingestible hydrogen generating additives (e.g. pills)
Other Hydrogen Generating Methods