"Quality": What is the Label Genuinely Intended to Convey?

Stakeholders who are familiar with the various scope of works and quality assurance project plans (QAPP) associated with analytical assays based on isotope-dilution mass spectrometric (ID-MS) methodologies know that there is an unhealthy tendency to require everything must be or claim to be fit for purpose but is not. Reducing or eliminating the differences between current practices of interpreting/reporting/using laboratory's analytical data and what the data user actually needs is the focus of this article. When applied to polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) in air emissions, as an example, it is shown that the American Chemical Society (ACS) limits of detection (LOD)/quantitation (LOQ) approach is more than a theoretical alternative to the technology-in-use unfit method detection limit (USEPA MDL); it is an essential component of a proven-to-work data user-centered solution. The role of traditional arbitrary criteria is reconsidered within the context of performance-based criteria. The goals set out in 1983 by Larry Keith's ACS committee finally became a reality.