Several food contaminants may occur in bulk commodities, which create a logistical problem with respect to sampling particularly in terms of complexity. In the case of loose commodities (e.g., wheat), there are different sampling practices amongst countries. Existing guidelines are vague regarding this issue (e.g., ISO 13690: 1999: Sampling should observe a recognised system to produce samples which are as fully representative as possible). This task seeks to survey present sampling practices and sampling guidelines and establish harmonised protocols for bulk sampling of loose commodities. This will be achieved a topic basis with the collection of information performed in each thematic WG in collaboration with task and WP4.
Different sampling plans exist within ISO Standards targeting different commodities. In some cases, these commodities and the transportation systems employed are comparable whilst sampling procedures differ significantly. Due to the structure of international standardisation, different sampling plans are recommended by different groups for comparable commodities, and some of the procedures do not take account of modern shipping and sampling technologies. In May 2008, AOCS hosted a meeting of experts from ISO committees, trade organizations, government departments and others including MoniQA to discuss the creation of basic sampling guidelines that meet needs and address the diverse issues surrounding sampling of flowing grain and oilseeds. A general document was developed based on the then-current version of ISO/DIS 24333.2. In subsequent discussions, a number of positions were presented including:
General Agreement:
- Industry needs revised ISO methods that conform to current practices
- Current practice(s) have not been identified as deficient
- Grain and oilseed quality measurements may be performed on suitable aggregate samples
- Some analytes may be distributed non-homogeneously throughout a lot
- Grain handling (e.g., in elevators) reduces the incidence of non-homogeneous distribution
- Lots containing contaminants including those detected by molecular biomarker analysis may be sampled adequately using current technologies
Responses to an interim document based on ISO/DIS 24333.2 may be summarized as:
Industry
- Available ISO sampling plans do not meet the current needs
- Sampling is too frequent for rapidly-flowing grain
Governmental/Regional
- Existing national and regional sampling plans meet current needs and have been analyzed statistically to prove them fit-for-purpose
- Governments may impose their own sampling plans for trace contaminants
Practical
- Available sampling regimens are both cost effective and efficient
- Additional sampling and testing costs will be passed on to the consumer
Theoretical
- Sampling theory requires accumulation and perhaps retention of more samples than would be practical or acceptable to trade and industry
MoniQA activities in this area are led by FERA (UK) linked to international SDOs (Standardisation Organisations) and ISO via ICC (AT).
Contact: Miles Thomas (miles [dot] thomas [AT] fera [dot] gsi [dot] gov [dot] uk) FERA, UK or Roland Poms (roland [dot] poms [AT] icc [dot] or [dot] at) ICC, AT
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