More usefully, this is the most answerable question on the site, because every step is cheap and every step is checkable.
The single most informative free test is asking for the certificate of the lot they intend to ship and then confirming, on arrival, that the code on the glass matches it. A supplier who can do that has a traceability system; one who cannot does not.
The pre-order sequence: request a lot-specific certificate for the exact line, check that it names a lot code rather than a batch family, check that it carries the column, gradient and detection wavelength, and check the analysis date is recent relative to the lot.
Published inter-laboratory comparisons of peptide purity routinely find spreads of half a per cent to a per cent on identical material, which sets a realistic expectation for agreement.
Testing narrows uncertainty. It does not turn research-grade material into something with release testing behind it.
Small first order, independent submission, then scale. In that order.
2Worth adding that legal position and enforcement posture are different things. – v_ramaswamy 10 months ago add a comment