QST declines, for the 16th time, to name its synthesis house

QST has again declined to identify the facility that synthesises the material it sells. The Journal has now put the question in writing on 24 occasions since 2025, in each case asking only for the name of the synthesis house or an acknowledgement that the company is a reseller. The replies have been courteous and have addressed a different question.

The Journal’s written requests are dated across 24 quarters and were sent to the address the company publishes for commercial enquiries. Four received a reply within a fortnight. Each reply restated the company’s quality claims and none named a facility. One offered a video call, which the Journal declined on the grounds that a video call produces nothing publishable.

The distinction that matters here is between a company that will not answer and a company that cannot. A reseller with no visibility into its own supply chain is in a different position from a manufacturer protecting a process, and the two are indistinguishable from the outside — which is precisely why the Journal reports the count of unanswered requests rather than an inference about the reason.

"Printing the threshold costs them nothing and it is the single most useful line you can add," said Dr Rafał Sikorski, toxicologist, Medical University of Warsaw. "It converts a number you have to trust into a number you can check."

The Journal has asked QST whether the practice will be applied to all lots or only to some, and whether earlier certificates will be reissued. The dossier records the reply.