Official controls shall be performed in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004. The following general provisions shall apply without prejudice to the provisions in Regulation (EC) No 882/2004.
Samples intended for official control of the levels of nitrate content in foodstuffs listed in Section 1 of the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 shall be taken according to the methods set out in this Annex. Aggregate samples thus obtained, either directly from a field or from a lot, shall be considered as representative of the lots.
Compliance shall be established on the basis of the levels determined in the laboratory samples.
For the purpose of this Annex, the following definitions shall apply:
‘lot’ means an identifiable quantity of a food commodity to be harvested at the same time or delivered at one time and determined by the official to have common characteristics, such as origin, variety or soil type within a maximum area of 2 hectares, type of packing, packer, consignor or markings.
‘sublot’ means a designated part of a large lot in order to apply the sampling method on that designated part; each sublot must be physically separate and identifiable.
‘incremental sample or unit’ means a quantity of material taken from a single place in the lot or sublot. In this case it may be a single lettuce or spinach head, or handful of baby leaf, or one bag of cut leaves.
‘aggregate sample’ means the combined total of all the incremental samples taken from the lot or sublot.
‘laboratory sample’ means a sample intended for the laboratory.
‘field’ means a specified area of land of the same soil type and cultivation practice, containing a single variety of lettuce or spinach at same growth stage. ‘Field’ may also be referred to as ‘lot’ in the method of sampling.
‘area under cover’ means a specified area of land covered by a glasshouse or a polytunnel (plastic or polyethylene tunnel or greenhouse) containing a single variety of lettuce or spinach at the same growth stage and to be harvested at the same time. ‘Area under cover’ may also be referred to as ‘lot’ in the method of sampling.
Sampling shall be performed by an authorised person as designated by the Member State.
Each lot which is to be examined shall be sampled separately. Large lots (i.e. lots of more than 30 tonnes or larger than 3 hectares) shall be subdivided into sublots to be sampled separately.
In the course of sampling and preparation of the samples, precautions shall be taken to avoid any changes, which would affect:
the nitrate content, adversely affect the analytical determination or make the aggregate samples unrepresentative, e.g. the presence of soil on lettuce or spinach during sample preparation,
the food safety or integrity of the lots to be sampled.
Also, all measures necessary to ensure the safety of the persons taking the samples shall be taken.
As far as possible incremental samples shall be taken at various places distributed throughout the lot or sublot. Departure from such procedure shall be recorded in the record provided for under part A.3.8. of this Annex.
The aggregate sample shall be made up by combining the incremental samples.
The replicate samples for enforcement, defence and reference purposes shall be taken from the homogenised aggregate sample, unless such procedure conflicts with Member States’ rules as regards the rights of the food business operator.
Each sample shall be placed in a clean, inert sealed opaque plastic bag to prevent loss of moisture and offering adequate protection against any damage or contamination.
The sample must be transferred to the laboratory within 24 hours of sampling and shall be kept cool during transport. If this is not possible the sample shall be deep-frozen within 24 hours and kept frozen (up to a maximum of six weeks).
All additional necessary precautions shall be taken to avoid any change in composition of the sample, which might arise during transportation or storage.
Each sample taken for official use shall be sealed at the place of sampling and identified following the rules of the Member State.
A record shall be kept of each sampling, permitting each lot to be identified unambiguously and the sampling officer shall record the variety, grower, production method, date, place of sampling, food business operator responsible for consignment, and any other relevant information likely to be of assistance to the analyst.
Food commodities may be traded in bulk or in containers, including sacks, bags and crates, or in individual retail packings. The method of sampling may be applied to all the different forms in which the commodities are put on the market.