The definition for retest date in Q7A is the date when a material should be re-examined to insure
that it’s still suitable for use. In Q1A, it says essentially the same, but then it says for use
immediately. The Q7A EWG discussed how companies interpret immediately. We didn’t think that
it was prudent to include this particular term “use immediately” because it’s subject to so much
interpretation in the industry. We approached it from the perspective that it’s up to the company to
justify how long they’re going to use this material after they’ve reassigned a retest date to that
material.
The other thing that we discussed within the EWG was the practice within the API industry of
setting a retest date, comparing the test results at the retest date to the original test results and
then extending the retest date.
