Reinheitsbestimmung

Reinheitsbestimmung is a German noun referring to the determination or specification of the purity of a substance. The word combines reinheit (purity) with bestimmung (determination, specification, regulation) and is used in technical, regulatory, and quality-control contexts. It denotes the criteria that define acceptable composition and allowable impurities, as well as the methods used to verify them.

In practice, Reinheitsbestimmung appears in fields such as analytical chemistry, food and beverage production, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. It can refer to imposed standards for ingredients, or to analytical tests that measure impurities and determine whether a product meets purity criteria. Regulatory language often sets maximum impurity levels, specifies permitted ingredients, and requires documentation and testing processes.

Relation to historical regulations: In German beer history, purity regulations are most famously codified in the Reinheitsgebot, or Beer Purity Law, of 1516. While Reinheitsbestimmung describes the broader concept of purity criteria, Reinheitsgebot is a specific regulatory framework. The term Reinheitsbestimmung is thus broader and not a formal title in the same way as Reinheitsgebot, but it underpins the general idea of verifying and enforcing purity in products.

In summary, Reinheitsbestimmung encompasses the processes and standards used to establish and verify the purity of substances across various industries, with particular relevance to regulatory and quality-control contexts.