In this article
- 01 Inulin Powder 90% vs a 10:1 Extract: Two Ways of Describing Strength
- 02 Source and Identity: Chicory Root, Agave and Jerusalem Artichoke
- 03 Assay Method: HPLC, Enzyme Assay and Ratio Tests
- 04 Grade and Application Fit
- 05 Documents That Settle a First Order
- 06 HS Classification: Inulin, Chicory Extract and Blends
- 07 Packing, Storage and Shelf Life
- 08 Frequently Asked Questions
Inulin powder is sold under two descriptions that look comparable and are not. One page states a percentage with a test method; another states a ratio. A buyer comparing quotations sees a large number against a small one and assumes the large one is the stronger material, when the two figures are not measuring the same thing at all. The mistake is common, it is expensive to discover after a production run, and it is easy to avoid once the two descriptions are read for what they are.
This note is about the specification, not about what the ingredient is: it reads the two figures side by side, shows what each one actually measures, and sets out what to ask before a first order is placed.
01 Inulin Powder 90% vs a 10:1 Extract: Two Ways of Describing Strength
Both pages are internally consistent. The confusion appears only when a buyer puts them beside each other, because one describes composition and the other describes yield.
What does 90% actually measure on an inulin spec?
A percentage is a composition figure: it states how much of the declared substance the material contains, as measured by a named method. On our chicory-root inulin powder page the specification is stated as 90% with HPLC as the test, and that pairing is the part that matters - a percentage without a method and a basis is not a specification. Ask what is being measured, which method produced the figure, and whether it is calculated on the material as received or on the dried substance.
Why is a 10:1 ratio not a purity figure?
Because a ratio describes the extraction, not the product. Ten to one means ten parts of root were used to produce one part of extract, before any carrier is considered. It says nothing about how much of any single compound is present in the finished powder, and nothing about what else came through with it. Our chicory root extract page declares a 10:1 specification, and read correctly that is a statement about input and output - a yield claim, not a strength claim.
| Spec line | Inulin powder 90% | Chicory root extract 10:1 | What to ask |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the figure measures | Content of the declared substance in the material | Input-to-output relationship of the extraction | Which question does this figure answer? |
| Method | Named analytical method, stated beside the figure | Extraction route rather than an analytical method | What method, and on what basis? |
| What moves the number | Raw material quality and process losses | How much root was charged per unit of extract | Is the figure calculated before or after any carrier? |
| What it cannot tell you | How the powder behaves in your blend | The composition of the finished powder | Ask for the other figure as well |
02 Source and Identity: Chicory Root, Agave and Jerusalem Artichoke
The word inulin names a family of materials, and the source decides part of the documentation before any specification is discussed.
Which source does the certificate have to name?
Commercial inulin is extracted from chicory root, and also from agave and from Jerusalem artichoke, and the certificate should name the source rather than the trade name alone. Our chicory pages give the botanical name Cichorium intybus L., which is the line to compare against what you intended to buy. Search results for chicory root powder also return dandelion root, a different plant entirely; a buyer who matches on the common name will eventually receive something the specification does not describe.
Does the source change the buyer's paperwork?
It can. Source and processing route determine which declarations a supplier can make, and suppliers differ in what they publish: one of our inulin pages states a non-GMO source, another states the same specification without that line. That is not a contradiction to resolve in an article - it is a reason to take the statements from the specification page for the exact SKU you are buying, and to have the batch certificate confirm them, rather than reading a category as if it were a product.
03 Assay Method: HPLC, Enzyme Assay and Ratio Tests
Three kinds of result appear on documents in this category, and only two of them are analytical measurements of content.
Which method should appear on the COA?
The method that the specification was written against. Where the specification is a percentage, the certificate should name the technique and the marker being measured; where it is a ratio, the certificate should name the extraction route and state that the figure is a ratio. A certificate that shows a figure without either is incomplete regardless of how precise the number looks.
What happens when two labs use different methods?
They produce different numbers, and both can be right. Different techniques separate or detect different parts of the same material, so a result from one method is not directly comparable with a result from another. Before comparing two offers, compare the two method lines; if they differ, either ask both laboratories to run the same method or accept that the figures cannot be ranked.
04 Grade and Application Fit
Grade is the frame around the specification, not a stronger version of it, and the pages in this category state food grade for both products.
Which grade fits a powder blend or a capsule?
The one whose physical lines match your process, which is a separate question from the grade word. A dry blend cares about particle size, flow and how the powder behaves when it meets other components; a capsule line cares about bulk behaviour and fill consistency. Ask for the physical specification in numbers, and ask what the supplier measures on every batch rather than once at development.
What does food grade commit a supplier to?
It commits the supplier to a specification frame written for food use: declared identity, contaminant limits, and a document set that a food business can file. It does not by itself say anything about the source, the extraction route or the certifications, which is why our inulin powder page lists its management-system certifications separately from its grade. Words such as premium or high purity are descriptors, not grades.
05 Documents That Settle a First Order
Most of the doubt in a first order can be closed with paperwork, provided it is requested by name.
Which four documents close most first orders?
The specification sheet, the batch certificate of analysis, the material safety data sheet and a process flow chart. The flow chart is the one buyers skip, and it is the one that shows where the root is extracted, where the material is purified and dried, and therefore which site the certificate refers to. Read together, the four should describe one material produced at one site.
How do you tell a producer from a trader?
06 HS Classification: Inulin, Chicory Extract and Blends
The two products in this note are not the same article, and that difference carries into the declaration.
Why can the two products classify differently?
Because one is a purified material declared by content, and the other is a plant extract declared by ratio and usually carried on something. A blend of either with other ingredients is a third article again. The questions that settle it - what the goods are, what form they are in, and what they are put up for - are the ones set out in how HS classification is argued, applied here to a root rather than to a salt.
When is a binding ruling worth the wait?
When the goods are new to your file, when two brokers have read them differently, or when the volume makes a correction expensive. A ruling binds the goods as described, so the description you submit is the whole exercise. Otherwise, declare precisely and keep the specification, the certificate and the invoice describing the same article.
07 Packing, Storage and Shelf Life
A certificate describes the material at release; packing and storage decide whether it still matches on arrival.
What packing suits a bulk buyer?
The format our pages state is a fibre drum with a food-grade inner liner, which protects a hygroscopic powder and can be closed again after sampling. Ask for the liner material, the closure, and whether the drum suits one opening or repeated sampling; where a supplier offers several packing sizes, take the one that matches your consumption rather than the largest.
What changes with humidity and heat?
Moisture pickup is the main risk with a powder of this kind, and it shows as caking and lost flow rather than as a failed assay. Ask for a storage condition in writing, desiccant in the outer pack where the route is humid, and a transit plan that does not leave the drum in an unventilated container.
08 Frequently Asked Questions
Is inulin powder the same product as chicory root extract?
No. Inulin powder is declared by content, with a percentage and a method; a chicory root extract is declared by extraction ratio. They can come from the same plant and still be different articles with different specifications.
Can I compare a 90% figure with a 10:1 ratio?
Not directly, because they answer different questions. The percentage describes composition; the ratio describes yield. To compare two offers, ask both suppliers for the same kind of figure measured the same way.
Does the plant source matter?
It matters for identity and for documentation. Ask the certificate to name the source and, where given, the botanical name, and compare it with what you intended to buy rather than with the trade name on the quotation.
Which test method should I ask for?
The one the specification was written against, stated on the certificate along with the marker and the basis. If two suppliers use different methods, their figures are not directly comparable.
Can a supplier give me an HS code in writing?
A supplier can tell you how it declares the goods, but classification is decided by the importing country's customs authority. Where the answer carries commercial weight, request a binding ruling for the goods exactly as you will import them.
Request Specifications & Samples
Tell us which product you need - the inulin grade declared by content or a chicory root extract declared by ratio - with the source, the application and the destination market, and we will send the specification sheet, the batch certificate and a sample for your own trial. Commercial terms depend on specification, packing and lead time, and small initial quantities for testing are supported.
liu@wellgreenxa.com ｜ wa.me/8619890982054 - we usually reply within 24 hours.
If you are still qualifying suppliers, verifying an ingredient supplier sets out what to request before a first order is placed.
Sources
- Our product pages for both inulin products and the chicory root extract - declared source, specification, test method, grade and certification, read 2026-10-27.
- No external market or regulatory data is used.
This note describes how specification and classification questions are argued. It is general information, not legal or regulatory advice, and it does not determine how any shipment is classified. Confirm requirements with the authority of the destination market.
