system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
How accurate is the amount of a medicine in a pill (is 20 milligrams of Aspirin really 20 milligrams)?
gpt
What you’ll find when medicines are manufactured is a specification limit of something along the lines of 21.2 mg +/- 0.5 mg. This ensures that the consumer is getting at minimum the label claim without adding too much active ingredient (for both financial waste and accidental overdose reasons). The manufacturer will have validated a process that has been proven to consistently meet that specification, and the validation is subject to inspection by the FDA.  Samples will also be taken throughout production to make sure each pill is within specification.