Technical, Food and Pharma Grade Chemicals: What's the Difference?

Citric acid, glycerine or sodium bicarbonate can each be bought in several grades. The molecule is the same — what changes is the purity, the impurity limits, the testing and the documentation behind it.

The common grades

• Technical / industrial grade — for manufacturing, cleaning, water treatment and other industrial processes. Impurity limits suit the process, not human consumption.
• Food grade — meets food-additive standards (for example FCC or the applicable food regulations in your market), with strict limits on heavy metals such as lead and arsenic.
• Pharma grade (IP / BP / USP / EP) — meets the relevant pharmacopoeia monograph, with tighter impurity limits and stronger documentation of how it was made.
• Laboratory / reagent grade (LR / AR) — for analysis and research, usually in small packs.

Examples

Product	Technical / industrial use	Food / pharma use
Citric acid	Cleaning, descaling	Beverages, confectionery, tablets (food / BP / USP)
Sodium bicarbonate	Fire extinguishers, leather, effluent treatment	Bakery, antacids (food / pharma)
Glycerine	Resins, inks, antifreeze	Cosmetics, syrups, toothpaste (USP)
Isopropyl alcohol	Cleaning, coatings, thinners	Hand sanitisers, pharma processing

How to choose

1. Start from the end use and the rules that apply to it. Anything that touches food, medicine or skin needs the matching grade.
2. Don't overpay. A technical process rarely needs pharma grade.
3. Ask for the COA against the named standard (for example "USP" rather than just "high purity").
4. Check the packing — food and pharma grades should come in clean, sealed, food-safe packaging with lot traceability.

Browse our Specialty & Fine Chemicals or ask us which grade fits your application.