How to read a creatine monohydrate specification, line by line
What we settle before a creatine monohydrate specification sheet goes out. Most creatine monohydrate enquiries arrive with a single number — 99% — and nothing else. The percentage is the easy part, because every serious supplier in this category states it. What decides whether the drum behaves in your blender, survives your stability pull and clears your incoming QA file is the eight lines underneath it. This is how we read our own sheet before it becomes a quotation.
A creatine monohydrate specification is a short sheet — nine lines on ours — and it is one of the most consistently misread documents in sports nutrition. Buyers read the assay, skim the rest as boilerplate, and then discover at goods-in that the mesh they were quoted does not suit a stick pack, or that the impurity lines they assumed were included were never on the sheet. Read the lines in the order below and the difference between two quotations becomes obvious. The commercial side — MOQ, sample policy, lead time and packing — is in our creatine monohydrate sourcing guide.
What the source and process lines tell you
The source line reads fermentation-origin creatine, produced by synthesis and recrystallisation. Creatine is not an extract squeezed out of a plant; it is built, and the starting material is fermentation-derived rather than petrochemical. Buyers sometimes treat the word synthesis as a warning sign — on a specification sheet it is not. The process line is what tells you how the purity was reached, and recrystallisation is the step that takes crude creatine up to 99% and above. It is also the step that determines how much of the process-related chemistry is left behind, which is exactly why the assay line alone cannot distinguish two materials.
The assay line: what 99% commits to
The assay line states creatine monohydrate at 99% or higher, per lot COA. Those last four words carry the meaning: the specification is the commitment for the grade, and the certificate that travels with each batch is the record of what that batch actually measured. A sheet that quotes 99% as a typical value, without tying it to a lot certificate, is quoting an intention rather than a limit.
Two impurities are worth naming whenever you compare creatine sheets, and both should be discussed even when a supplier's sheet omits them. The first is creatinine, the compound creatine degrades into under heat and moisture — the reason the loss-on-drying line matters more here than buyers expect. The second is dicyandiamide, a process-related impurity from synthesis. We supply high-purity, low-dicyandiamide material as standard. The useful question to put to any supplier is not "is it pure" but "what are your limits for these two, and will those figures appear on the COA that ships with my lot?" A supplier who will not put a number on those lines has told you something about how much they test.
The assay line is a commitment, not a result. The sheet states what the grade commits to; the COA states what the drum in front of you measured. Ask for both, and check that the certificate is drawn from a production lot rather than a retained sample from last year.
The physical lines: mesh, loss on drying and ash
Three physical lines decide whether the powder works in your process:
- Particle size. 80 mesh is the standard grade, with 100 mesh on request. For scoop powders and blended tubs, 80 mesh is the right choice and the cheaper one. For stick packs, ready-to-mix sachets and single-serve shots where grittiness turns into a customer review, the finer 100 mesh is worth specifying up front rather than after the first complaint.
- Loss on drying. Limited to 5.0% or less. This is the free-moisture line, and on creatine it is the most consequential number on the sheet after the assay: moisture is what drives conversion to creatinine inside a sealed drum over a warm shipping route.
- Total ash. Also limited to 5.0% or less. Ash is the inorganic residue line; on a recrystallised material it should be low and, more importantly, consistent from lot to lot. A number that moves is a process that is not controlled.
The appearance line — white crystalline powder, characteristic odour and taste — reads like filler, but it is the fastest check you have at goods-in. A cream or grey tint, or a sharp amine note, is worth a photograph and a phone call before you release the lot to production.
Packing, shelf life and what the batch COA adds
| Line | Standard grade |
|---|---|
| Packing | 25 kg fibre drum, double polyethylene liner |
| Sample and pilot packing | 1 kg and 5 kg foil bags |
| Shelf life | 24 months in unopened original packing |
| Storage | Cool, dry, away from direct sunlight |
| MOQ | 1 kg |
Every lot ships with a batch COA and full documentation. The sheet states limits; the COA gives the measured value for the lot you are buying, plus the microbiological and heavy-metal lines that sit outside the nine specification rows but inside every buyer's incoming-release checklist. If you need additional parameters for a specific market — limits, methods or a particular test house — tell us before the order is placed, not after.
How we read a creatine monohydrate specification against a quotation
When a buyer sends us a competitor sheet, we read four things in this order: the assay basis first, meaning 99% or higher and whether it is stated per lot COA or as a typical value; then the mesh line, because it moves both price and how the material handles; then the physical limits, loss on drying and total ash; and last the documentation question — which lines will appear on the COA that ships with my order. Sheets that go quiet on the fourth point usually go quiet on the first three as well. For where each grade ends up in a finished formula, see the creatine monohydrate applications breakdown.
Frequently asked questions
What is creatine monohydrate standardised to?
The standard grade is creatine monohydrate at 99% or higher, per lot COA, from fermentation-origin creatine by synthesis and recrystallisation. The powder is white and crystalline, 80 mesh as standard with 100 mesh on request, and loss on drying and total ash are each limited to 5.0% or less.
What should I check when comparing creatine monohydrate specifications?
Check the assay basis first: 99% or higher, and whether it is stated per lot COA or as a typical value. Then the mesh line, then the physical limits, then whether creatinine and dicyandiamide limits will appear on the certificate that ships with your lot. Ask each supplier for that lot COA rather than a generic sample certificate.
What packing and shelf life does creatine monohydrate come in?
Standard packing is a 25 kg fibre drum with a double polyethylene liner, with 1 kg and 5 kg foil bags for samples and pilot runs. Shelf life is 24 months in unopened original packing, stored cool and dry away from direct sunlight. MOQ is 1 kg.
Related reading
Related: Creatine Monohydrate — full specification, grades and documentation.
Request a Free Quote
Tell us the product, specification and quantity — quotation with lead time and documentation list within one business day.