Documentation and QC

The document set

Every consignment carries four documents, per lot rather than per product page:

• Certificate of analysis — assay by the stated method, isomeric composition, appearance, and the lot number that ties the material to a retained sample.
• GC trace — the chromatogram behind the figures, with peak assignments, so a receiving laboratory can reproduce the interpretation rather than trust it.
• Safety data sheet — issued in the language and format the destination requires, covering handling of the neat substance.
• Packing list — pack size, net weight, lot and any temperature-control requirements.

An isomer statement is issued where a specification calls for one, and the chromatographic conditions are available when a tender asks for method detail rather than a result.

Why assay alone is the wrong number

A pheromone can be 98% pure by assay and still be the wrong material for a lure, because assay does not distinguish (E) from (Z). The two isomers are different semiochemicals: in a blend, the minor one can suppress attraction rather than support it. A certificate that reports only “purity ≥98%” is answering a question nobody in a monitoring programme asked.

So the certificate reports composition, and the specification we quote against names the isomer. Where a programme needs an enriched or defined mixture, that is what is packed — and the delivered composition is stated on the lot documentation, not implied by a catalogue descriptor.

Retained samples and traceability

A sample from each lot is retained, so a disputed trap result can be traced back to the material that produced it. This matters more in regulatory programmes than in commercial ones: a detection that has to be defended two years later needs the lot, not a description of it.

Stability and shelf life

Stability depends on the class. Aldehydes oxidise; acetates hydrolyse; alcohols take up water; ethers are comparatively robust. Storage guidance follows the class rather than a single company rule: cool, dry, dark, sealed under inert gas for holdings beyond one season, and containers brought to room temperature before opening.

Formulated lures age faster than neat compounds, and a lure stored warm over winter is a different lure by spring. That is why lot dates belong in the trap record as well as the purchase record.

What we will not do

We will not quote an assay figure we cannot reproduce on a rerun, describe a mixture as a single compound, or substitute an isomer without saying so in writing. In a catalogue where many compounds differ only in geometry, those three would be easy to do and would make every downstream dataset untrustworthy.

Asking for a document

If you need a certificate in a specific format, an SDS in a particular language, or a method statement for a tender annex, send the requirement with the enquiry and it is prepared with the quotation rather than after the order.