Method
Sterility, counts, and PCR screens
These words are not synonyms. The certificate should say which one was performed, on what sample, and how long it took.
A sterility test described as USP <71> is a specific compendial method with an incubation, often about 14 days. Laboratories that offer it usually say so, and they often cannot rush it. A preliminary report may be issued with sterility still pending. Read the pending line instead of assuming the final result.
Bioburden and USP <61> describe microbial counts on a material. They are not the same document as a sterility test. TAMC and TYMC are total aerobic microbial counts and total yeast and mold counts: numbers, often pass/fail against a limit, not a 14-day sterility claim. Total yeast and mold as a single test is narrower still.
A PCR sterility screen detects nucleic acid associated with organisms the assay includes. It is faster than a culture method and it is not the same sentence as “USP <71>.” If the certificate says PCR, write PCR in your notes.
Some purity packages state outright that they do not include sterility. That is useful information. Do not fill the blank from a different laboratory’s menu.
None of these results is an instruction for handling a product as if it were a medicine. They are measurements, with the limits of the method that was named.