Choosing a Pepsin Grade: What to Check on the Label and Spec Sheet
For buyers comparing pepsin offers: activity scales, CAS number, food-additive licence, pack size, documents, and how to request a quote.
Pepsin offers that look alike on paper often are not: they state activity on different scales, carry different identifiers and arrive with different documents. For a manufacturer or reseller, a wrong comparison costs a failed trial or a lot that cannot be relabelled. This guide covers what to check before you compare prices, and what to send for a quote.
Our pepsin is specified at 1:10,000 – 1:15,000 NF, from porcine gastric mucosa, in 1 kg, 5 kg and 25 kg packs from a 1 kg minimum.
Why Two Pepsin Offers Are Hard to Compare
Pepsin is sold by activity, and activity is only meaningful with its unit and method. Two powders with similar appearance and price can differ several-fold in strength, so the cost per kilogram says little until both are converted to the same scale. Source, grade wording and documents differ as well, and they decide whether the product can go into food, a supplement or a laboratory reagent at all.
Compare activity on one scale before comparing price. • Check identity and grade on the label, not only in the offer text. • Ask for documents before the trial, not after the shipment.
What the Label and Product Details Should Tell You
Pepsin for food use states its activity on the NF scale, such as 3000NF. Check the CAS number: pepsin's own number is 9001-75-6; if a product sheet shows 9001-00-7, that is bromelain's number - ask the supplier why. Pepsin for food use is made under a food-additive production licence; ask for the licence number when the enzyme goes into food. Product details should also state the grade wording, the powder form and whether the product is classed as a hazardous chemical, which matters for your shipping and storage paperwork.
Activity: unit and number, such as 3000NF. • CAS number given for the product. • Food-additive licence number. • Grade wording, powder form and hazard class.
Activity Scales and Dose: Convert Before You Compare
An NF figure states strength on a fixed scale, so two grades on the NF scale are compared by the number itself, not only by the unit. Dose follows strength. A plant that switches between grades of different activity has to re-set the dose by trial; copying a powder weight from one grade to another will over- or under-dose. Ask every supplier for the unit definition and assay conditions, and run new grades side by side with your current one on the same substrate and endpoint.
Record the activity basis with every dose. • Re-set the dose by trial when the grade changes. • Use the same endpoint test for every grade.
Incoming QC on Each Lot
Ask for the activity, CAS number, licence number and grade wording in writing with the quote, and match them to the label when the goods arrive. Match each delivered lot to its COA and check appearance, activity by the stated method and packaging integrity before it goes into production. Keep retain samples of each enzyme lot with the batches it went into; when a batch underperforms, they separate raw-material variation from enzyme variation.
Check the lot number against the COA. • Keep retain samples. • Store as the label says; our grade is stored sealed and refrigerated.
Marketplace Listings Versus Qualified Supply
Online marketplace listings are useful for a first look at prices and small trial quantities, but a product photo and a generic activity claim do not qualify an enzyme for production. Before a production order, ask for the documents, a sample from the lot you would receive, and written confirmation of source and specification. A supplier that cannot provide them for a 1 kg order is unlikely to provide them for a 25 kg one.
Treat a listing as a starting point. • Ask for a lot sample before volume. • Get source and specification in writing.
Technical Buying Checklist
Activity on one scale, with unit and method. • CAS number matching pepsin (9001-75-6). • Grade wording and licence number where the pepsin goes into food. • Source declaration (porcine) and acceptability for your market. • Lot COA and TDS. • Pack size and yearly quantity: 1 kg, 5 kg or 25 kg.
How to Request a Quote
Request a quote by email or through the form on the home page. Send the product and grade, the quantity per order or per year, the destination country and your application. Packs are 1 kg, 5 kg and 25 kg, the minimum order is 1 kg, and we reply within 24 hours. Resellers are quoted the same way.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I compare a 3000NF pepsin with a 1:10,000 NF grade?
Both figures are on the NF scale, but they describe different strengths, so compare the number, not just the unit, and re-set the dose by trial when you change grade. Our grade is 1:10,000 – 1:15,000 NF.
What CAS number should a pepsin label show?
Pepsin's CAS number is 9001-75-6. If a label or product sheet shows 9001-00-7, that is bromelain's number - check the number on the label and the documents.
What documents should I ask for?
A lot COA, a TDS, the activity method and a source declaration, plus the food-additive licence number where the pepsin goes into food.
What pack sizes and minimum order do you supply?
Pepsin is supplied in 1 kg, 5 kg and 25 kg packs. The minimum order is 1 kg.
Is a marketplace listing good enough for production buying?
Use it as a first look. For production, ask for documents, a sample from the lot you would receive and written source and specification details before you order volume.
Related: Pepsin Enzyme Substrate & Function
Request a pepsin enzyme powder specification review and pilot-trial recommendation for your protein hydrolysis process. See our application page for Pepsin Enzyme Substrate & Function for specs, MOQ, and a free 50 g sample.
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