Sampling

Sampling in the EU

Sampling and analysis in the EU is part of the legal framework of the EU. In various Regulations one can find procedures and guidelines of what is expected of the official control of feed and food in the Member States. In this way the necessary activities are harmonized, assuring that the results of control programs of the different control authorities are comparable, avoiding possible discussion about methods and interpretation of results.

The sampling Regulations describe how to take samples, e.g. how to take a series of samples, what number of sub-samples, and how to pool these. Although the descriptions are rather precise, it can be helpful to see the sampling proces in action for various sampling sites, at harbours and storage sites, from lorries, containers, silos, and ships, for food of non-animal origin. To help the Inspectors, a movie was made by the Italian Ministry of Health.

Movie

The movie was originally available as a DVD. Its title is "Sampling Procedures. For the official control on food of non-animal origin". According to the accompanying information it was developed in the framework of the project: "practical activities and procedures for the sampling and analysis of food products and materials intended to come into contact with food in the framework of the Official Controls carried out by the Italian Maritime Air and Border Health Offices", for the benefit of the Inspectors". Its is presented in English.

As implied by the description, the video shows the practice of sampling and sample preparation. The full movie is about 40 minutes. It shows how the sampling procedures are to be followed, and next you will see some primary analytical procedures such as grinding and milling for the preparation of the sample to be analyzed. It should be noted that the film was created some time ago. Various EU Regulations have changed; one will notice some references that are superseded today. At the same time it can be said that the procedures in this video are still representative for the current situation.

The original video might be found at the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana. Ask for the Procedure di Campionamento per il controllo ufficiale. Or, contact the website owner with a request for a copy.

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