Quality control (QC)

Quality control is the testing and inspection carried out on materials and finished products to verify that they meet their specifications.

It includes checking incoming hemp extract and other ingredients, testing samples during production, and release testing on the finished batch for potency, contaminants and physical attributes such as appearance and fill. Results are compared with written specifications, and a batch that fails is held, investigated and either reworked or rejected. Quality control may be done in-house, by an outside laboratory, or both.

The certificate of analysis a customer sees is a quality control document, usually the release test for that batch. It shows what the product contained at release, not what the manufacturing process looked like, which is the domain of quality assurance. Understanding the difference helps a reader weigh a company's statements: a certificate proves content for one batch, while a described quality system explains why future batches should look the same.