Root Issue Investigation

Cuts Gel — Texture Variation / White Particulate

Product: Athena Cuts 8oz (LQ-CUTS-8OZ) · Lot: 14-250930OC · First reported: Feb 26, 2026

🔬 Lot 14-250930OC ⚗️ Cuts Gel ⚠️ 2 Active ✓ 1 Solved

Status

Investigating

🧪

Likely Root Cause: Crystallized IBA (Indole-3-butyric acid)

Joe performed an assessment on returned samples and determined the white particulate is most likely crystallized IBA — the active rooting hormone in Cuts. IBA can precipitate out of the gel matrix under certain temperature or storage conditions. Sample sent to manufacturer for confirmation. Warehouse samples from same lot inspected — no visible issue in reference bottles at YC.
→ View Joe's Assessment Doc

🎫 Linked Tickets 3

Ticket	Customer	Reported	What they saw	Qty	Status	Action taken
#73816	Travis Cooper / GrowBigOGH Distributor → end customer	Feb 26, 2026	White/strange material throughout gel. 5+ bottles affected from 2 cases. Customer paused cloning production.	24 bottles (2 cases)	On Hold	Replacement SO176200 issued. Return samples received Mar 13. Joe assessment: crystallized IBA. Sample sent to manufacturer. Warehouse lots inspected — no issue in reference bottles at YC.
#75560	Tanner Rutledge / GTI-CBX NV A-1980 · Las Vegas	Mar 19, 2026	Texture variation — material not fully incorporated into gel. Photo confirmed.	3 bottles (SO176847)	Solved	Replacement SO177420 issued. Customer confirmed new product looks good (Mar 26).
#76739	Vertis (via Michael Ish) Trial customer	Apr 1, 2026	Customer cut bottle open and saw "growth" inside. Blaming Cuts for cloning failures. Lot code not yet confirmed.	Unknown	On Hold	Lot code pending. Meeting requested with Justin (Vertis) — Andrew to attend.

📅 Investigation Timeline

📩

Feb 26, 2026

First report — #73816 (GrowBigOGH)

Distributor reports 2 full cases with white strange material throughout. Customer paused cloning. Andrew requests lot number, asks to hold bottles for return. Replacement SO176200 issued same day.
🔍

Feb 26, 2026

Lot confirmed — 14-250930OC

Side ticket identifies lot 14-250930-OC from SO174464 (48 units). Andrew inspects warehouse samples from same lot at YC — no visible issue in reference bottles.
📦

Mar 4–10, 2026

Awaiting return samples

Customer initially unresponsive on returning bottles. Desk sample in petri dish continues to look good. Warehouse inventory of same lot — no issue found.
📬

Mar 13, 2026

Return samples received

Affected bottles returned from customer. Visual comparison: customer bottles show white particulate; warehouse sample from same lot looks clean.
📷

Mar 19, 2026

Second report — #75560 (GTI-CBX NV)

GTI-CBX NV reports texture variation in 3 bottles from SO176847. Same lot. Replacement SO177420 approved and shipped. Customer confirms new product looks good Mar 26.
🧪

Mar 31, 2026

Root cause assessment — likely crystallized IBA

Joe performs analysis on returned samples. Likely cause: crystallized IBA (Indole-3-butyric acid) precipitating out of gel matrix. Sample sent to manufacturer for confirmation. Joe's assessment doc →
⚠️

Apr 1, 2026

Third report — #76739 (Vertis)

Vertis customer cut open a bottle and found "growth" inside. Claiming Cuts caused cloning failures. Lot not yet confirmed. Meeting requested with Justin (Vertis). Escalation risk — trial customer.

🔬 Issue Detail

What customers observed

White or off-white particulate/material visible throughout the gel. Described variously as: white strange material, texture variation (unincorporated material), and "growth" inside the bottle. Consistent across multiple customers from the same lot. Not observed in warehouse reference bottles from the same lot.

Root Cause (preliminary)

Likely crystallized IBA (Indole-3-butyric acid) — the active rooting hormone in Cuts gel. IBA can precipitate under certain temperature or storage conditions. The variation between affected customer bottles and clean warehouse samples from the same lot suggests a temperature excursion or storage condition difference may have occurred during distribution or storage at the customer/distributor level. Awaiting manufacturer confirmation.

Crop / Product Safety

Crystallized IBA is chemically the same active ingredient — not a contaminant or foreign material. Cuttings treated with affected product are unlikely to be harmed. However, the crystallized material may result in uneven IBA distribution and inconsistent rooting performance. Recommend not continuing use of visibly affected product. New product should perform as expected.

Distribution Scope

Lot 14-250930OC confirmed across at least two accounts (GrowBigOGH distributor and GTI-CBX NV). Vertis lot pending confirmation. Warehouse inventory from same lot at YC inspected — no visible issue. Suggests issue may be distribution/storage-linked rather than full-lot production failure. Manufacturer review of production records underway.

✅ Next Steps

Await manufacturer assessment of returned sample — confirm crystallized IBA hypothesis×
#76739 Vertis: obtain lot number from Michael Ish / customer before meeting×
#76739 Vertis: schedule and attend meeting with Justin — prepare explanation of crystallized IBA and reassurance on new product×
Run NS shipment trace for lot 14-250930OC — identify all other accounts that received this lot×
Determine if temperature excursion is a plausible cause — check distribution route and cold chain for affected orders×
Once manufacturer confirms: document root cause, update response library, close investigation on #73816×
Consider whether lot 14-250930OC should be flagged for hold on any remaining inventory×

+ Add step

📧 Draft Customer Response (for Vertis meeting / general use)

Thank you for flagging the issue with the Cuts gel. We have been actively investigating this and wanted to share our findings. The white particulate observed in the bottles is most likely crystallized IBA (Indole-3-butyric acid) — the active rooting hormone in Cuts. IBA can crystallize out of the gel matrix under certain temperature or storage conditions. This is the same active ingredient that has always been in the product; it is not a foreign contaminant or growth. Importantly, this does not mean the product is unsafe — cuttings treated with it should not be harmed. However, because the IBA may not be evenly distributed in a crystallized state, we cannot guarantee consistent rooting performance from an affected bottle. For that reason we recommended discontinuing use of any visibly affected product and have arranged replacements. We are currently working with our manufacturer to confirm this assessment and understand whether this is a production issue or a storage/temperature-related event. We will follow up with full findings. We take this seriously and appreciate your team flagging it. Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions. Andrew Hutchinson Quality Systems | Athena Agriculture