FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

Our service is intended only for commercial customers from industry, trade and agriculture. 

We recommend that customers from the private sector enquire at http://www.swisstestinglabs.ch.

• Company name indicating the legal form
• Full address
• Billing address if different from client address
• Contact person
• E-mail address and telephone number of the contact person
• Sample name
• Lot/batch no.
• Number of containers and volume of content per container
• In the case of multiple containers:
  • Should a mixed sample be prepared?
  • How should the mixed sample be prepared?
  • Which tests on individual samples and which tests on mixed samples?
  • Storage conditions (e.g. temperature, special conditions)
  • Safety guidelines (e.g. toxicity, risk and safety statements, narcotics, biohazard, MSDS)
  • Purpose of the analysis (e.g. release testing, R&D, licensing, etc.)
  • Scope of testing (parameter, method and specification; possibly also reference to a monograph)
  • Quality standard (e.g. GMP, US-cGMP, ISO 17025)
     

If some of the required information is missing or incomplete, there may be a delay in the processing of your order.

Our customer service department will be happy to advise you on the type, scope and price of the tests you require.

We will be happy to prepare a quotation for you on request. In addition to cost information, this also includes information regarding processing time and the required sample size.

A confirmed reservation is mandatory. Please contact our customer service department.

For express orders (≤3 working days), we charge a supplement of 50%.

Express processing in the field of microbiology is limited by the required incubation times.

Our customer service department will be happy to advise you.

Refer to our General Terms and Conditions for processing times. We can give you the following approximate values:
 

Food and agroecology field:

Generally 5-10 working days from receipt of samples and full order clarification.
 

Pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and medical devices:
 

Individual parameters:
Generally 5-10 working days from receipt of samples and full order clarification, as well as receipt of all reference and auxiliary materials.

Monographs:
Generally 20 working days from receipt of samples and full order clarification, as well as receipt of all reference and auxiliary materials.

Validations:
Generally 4-8 weeks depending on the type and scope of the validation. Our customer service department will be happy to advise you.

Microbiological Tests:
Generally 5-10 working days depending on the method of determination.
Microbiological stability tests: up to 2 months depending on scope.

The test report will be sent to you by e-mail immediately after the release of the test results by default.

To ensure your medications and raw materials are of the optimum quality during transportation to UFAG Laboratorien, various aspects are to be taken into account. These are based on the specifications of Good Distribution Practice (GDP) and aim to guarantee the reliability of analysis results.

Examples of measures to ensure suitable transportation are:

• The materials should be transported in line with the storage conditions indicated in the packaging information.
• Suitable transport methods should be used. (Regardless of the transport method chosen, materials may in no way be damaged during the journey due to uncertainties.)
• The use of data loggers to record the temperature during transportation.
• Scheduling and planning of temperature-critical shipments in such a way that these are not conducted over the weekend.
• Selection of a suitable sample container.
• Selection of suitable transport packaging.

We recommend the definition and description of transport processes to thus avoid deviations in your analysis results.

The required sample size depends on the type and scope of tests (individual, double or multiple determinations).

Guideline values can be found in our directory of services or in the “additional information” of offers. Samples that are too small may result in delays in order processing.

If you have any questions regarding the required sample size, please contact our customer service department.

Indicating the quantity of the contents of a container helps us to assess whether the sample material will be sufficient for the tests.

Please pack the samples carefully, taking into account the possible hazard potential.

Use bubble wrap to prevent glass-on-glass impacts. Please always enclose a material safety data sheet (MSDS) or refer to potential hazards.

For the shipment of hazardous substances or high active substances, specific legal provisions apply which must be observed. This may include shipment in special transport boxes and external identification as a hazardous substance.

If you wish to ship your hazardous substances using the Swiss postal service, you can find more information about shipping hazardous materials here: https://www.post.ch/en/business/a-z-of-subjects/dropping-off-mail-items/sending-dangerous-goods

Do you have further questions? - Our logistics department will be happy to advise you.

When should materials be cooled?

Temperature-sensitive samples should be tempered to exclude the effects of temperature on the test results. It is possible to record and assess the temperature throughout the entire transportation process using data loggers. If you have any questions relating to temperature monitoring, please contact the customer service department.
 

Cooling using cold packs: what should be considered?

The cooling capacity of cold packs is often overestimated. Please use a cold pack with a cooling capacity which is adequate for the sample size and cooling time. At least 3-4 cold packs are recommended, even for small samples.

Please note: cold packs should not be allowed to have any direct contact with the sample material.

Please make a note on the written order if we are to return the cold packs to you.
 

Cooling with dry ice: what should be considered?

The transport of dry ice must be declared as hazardous substance transport; the appropriate rules and surcharges apply.

Sample letters of advice are generally welcome and help us to plan order processing and to improve its efficiency. You will benefit from this in terms of shorter delivery times, where possible.
 

Express samples:
 

A confirmed reservation is mandatory. Please contact our customer service department.

For express orders (≤3 working days), we charge a supplement of 50 %.

Express processing in the field of microbiology is limited by the required incubation times.

Our customer service department will be happy to advise you.

Sending samples from the EU to Switzerland is simple and easy if you observe a few points for shipping:
 

The following documents must be enclosed with the shipment:

• Commercial invoice or Proforma invoice*
• Shipping documents / movement certificate in five copies*

* The number of documents may vary depending on the parcel delivery service.

If your company already has a contract with a parcel delivery service, you can prepare all the required documents using the corresponding shipping software.
 

Commercial invoice

Each shipment outside of the EU is subject to customs duties. This means that samples must be accompanied by a Proforma invoice. 

This must contain the following information:

• full description of all content, e.g. “xxx sample for analysis”
• Value of goods: in order to ensure that the samples do not pay additional duty charges, please enter a goods value of €1 for the whole shipment. This allows the analysis samples to remain free of duty.
• Information on the origin of the goods.

Finally, please sign the Proforma invoice.
 

Shipping documents

The consignment note contains all the details of the shipment and accompanies the shipment until its delivery to UFAG Laboratorien AG. The consignment note number allows you to track your shipment via Track & Trace.
 

The consignment note should contain the following information:

• sender information
• full recipient’s information
• telephone number of contact person at UFAG.
   

Delivery times:

There are different rates with different run times depending on the parcel delivery service used.
Generally, express services in Switzerland deliver in 1-2 days. In the case of standard delivery, parcels can take 3-4 or more days depending on the service provider and selected rate.

Do you have further questions? - Our logistics department will be happy to advise you.

Sample receipt outside of normal hours of business is possible in many cases.

Please contact the customer service department for more information.

When is the optimal time to deliver samples for microbiological testing?

Please note that samples for microbiological testing must arrive by 3.00pm Mon-Thurs and by 12.00pm on Fridays in order to be prepared on the same day.

In some cases, special arrangements can be made via the customer service department.

Pharmaceutical water for microbiological testing:

According to regulations, the water must not be cooled until analysis. Samples must be prepared on the day of sample collection. We encourage you to send us the samples by express post (e.g. using the Swiss postal service courier “Blitz”).
 

Drinking water samples for microbiological testing:

Please observe our leaflet on the topic of how to take water samples. 

There are many important factors to take into account in order to ensure that a test is fully GMP-compliant.

Here are the key points that need to be resolved as part of the order process:

• Analysis methods must be validated on a product-specific basis.
• If methods have been validated outside of UFAG Laboratorien, a method transfer should be carried out.
• An agreement for the delimitation of responsibility (GMP Technical Agreement, Quality Agreement) is required.
• An audit of our company or a self-disclosure on the subject of quality is needed as part of the collaboration.

Our pharmaceuticals customer services will be happy to advise you in detail on this subject.

Limit Value

When a limit value is exceeded, you will be contacted to discuss the next steps.

For analyses carried out in accordance with the GMP quality standard, a standardised OOS (Out of Specification) process is initiated in this case.
 

Standard value / Expected value

If expected values for a test are available to you, please indicate these. This will help the laboratory to select the appropriate sample size and preparation.

You will receive an OOS (Out of Specification) message when a measurement result outside of the limit value is obtained.

We will then work together with you in order to determine which measures should be taken.

Only when an OOS process is complete can a final test report be sent to you. Interim reports are available at any time.

Information for our customers

Here you can read our leaflet on "Verification on Pharmacopeia Methods"

Bitte kontaktieren Sie unseren Kundenservice, wenn Sie Fragen zu dieser Dienstleistung haben.

One of our sales representatives can collect samples at your site upon arrangement. This ensures rapid and controlled transport to UFAG Laboratorien.

Please contact our customer service department if you have questions regarding this service.

Do you need help with taking samples?

If you commission qualified UFAG staff to take your samples, everything from sample taking to the finished test results is carried out from a single source. This minimises the risk of errors occurring during sample taking or transport.

We take care of suitable sample containers, qualified sample taking and suitable, rapid sample transport to UFAG Laboratorien.

Please contact our customer service department if you have questions regarding this service.

Please observe the information in our leaflet on TOC sampling.

We can provide you with sample containers free of charge on request.

Please contact our customer service department.

Please observe the information in our leaflet on water sampling for the field of drinking water/food.

We can provide you with sample containers free of charge on request.

Please contact our customer service department.