Traceability without uncertainty: current situation in the pharmaceutical industry

The current situation in the pharmaceutical industry is discussed, when the traceability of measurement (analytical) results to certified values of pharmacopoeial reference standards is required, without evaluating their uncertainties. It is shown that the evaluation of measurement uncertainty is necessary for understanding the level of confidence of the analytical results and their comparability, particularly during preparation and characterisation of the reference standards.Papers published in this section do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Editors, the Editorial Board and the Publisher. Apart from exceptional circumstances, they are not submitted to the usual referee procedure and go essentially unaltered.