I visited the Bainbridge lab and yes they extensively test every board before it is introduced. They have about four scientists that work for them in the lab.
Many years ago, the Library of Congress provided purchasing specifications that mat boards had to meet or they wouldn’t buy them. FACTS, Fine Art Care and Treatment Standards (artfacts.org) list many of the tests a board has to pass to be considered safe for preservation framing and to meet specifications set like the Library of Congress. The boards have to be a specific thickness, be fade, bleed and abrasion resistant as well as a PH of 8.5, so it can absorb acids from the air and come down no further than 7, or neutral over it's lifetime. In the Bainbridge lab they actually immerse the board in water, they are rubbed at a certain pressure the prescribed amount of time, they expose them to light also for a specific length of time and they are tested for acid content. If they do not pass all tests, they cannot be introduced as an Alphamat or Alpharag and they will not contain Artcare, or zeolites. A few years ago Bainbridge introduced the Rice paper line, which is a very popular line but is not sold as a preservation product because they could not get it pure enough. It is still a very good board, but does not meet all the standards for preservation framing so should not go directly against the art.
If you look at the back of mat boards corner samples produced by Bainbridge, the ones that contain Artcare will say so and are totally suitable for preservation framing. I don’t know if other companies designate on their corner samples whether they are suitable for preservation framing or not, but they should. Maybe it is something we as framers could demand from manufactueres.
I sat in on a lecture many years ago taught by Merrily Smith, a person who worked for the library of Congress and she said they needed a material that would absorb the acids of the papers and objects they store or display, They could put them in good storage containers and they would still deteriorate because the objects or art themselves contained acids. Bainbridge added zeolites, Artcare, to their matboards and it does work very well to help protect art in a frame housing.
If you are in doubt as to the quality of any matboard you plan to use, ask the manufacturer if the boards meets all standards for preservation framing established by FACTS. With so much information about preservation framing materials common knowledge now a days, manufacturers cannot hide behind marketing terms, they have to fess up, or they will be heavily criticized pretty quickly.
Also, the more educators, writers and manufactures use definitive words and phrases to describe products, the less confusion there will be as to suitability of products and uses.
This is very long and sounds like an ad for Bainbridge. I mean it as informational and helpful. I used to be an educational consultant for them, no longer am, but knew the answers to your question. I hope it is helpful.