What Does AQL Mean? 'AQL' stands for 'Acceptance Quality Limit', and is defined as the "quality level that is the worst tolerable" in ISO 2859-1. It represents the maximum number of defective units, beyond which a batch is rejected. Importers usually set different AQLs for critical, major, and minor defects. Most Asian exporters are familiar with this type of setting. For example: "AQL is 1.5%" means "I want no more than 1.5% defective items in the whole order quantity, on average over … [Read more...]