Joint products and by-products both start their manufacturing life as part of the same raw
material. Until a certain point in the production process, no distinction can be made between
the products.
The point in a joint production process at which individual products can be identified
for the first time is called the split-off point. Thereafter, separate production processes
can be applied to the individual products. At the split-off point, joint products or by-products
might be salable or require further processing to be salable, depending on their nature.