What can a cucumber teach clinical research?

German beer has been brewed under the purity law standards for more than 500 years. The basic ingredients, nothing other than barley, hops, and water, were laid down in the so-called ‘Reinheitsgebot‘ in the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt in 1516. The importance of yeast was not known then and was added later. The law set strict ‘purity’ standards, resulting in a rigid consistency that many German brewers still follow.

Cucumbers must be sufficiently developed, but the seeds must still be soft. Maximum curvature: 10 mm per 10 cm length of cucumber.

These are extracts of regulation No. 1677/88, the so-called “cucumber regulation” in Germany and Europe. This guideline regulates the quality standards for cucumbers and divides them into different quality classes on the basis of various characteristics.

Standards are great. For example, if you buy a car, you know exactly what to expect from Mercedes or Porsche. If you purchase a table at Ikea, it does not matter in which country, the way of assembling it is always the same.

Continue reading our CEO’s blog on the need for further standardization in clinical research here…