Individually packaged part of a lot, including contents so as to facilitate handling and transport of a number of sales units or of products loose or arranged, in order to prevent damage by physical handling and transport. Road, rail, ship and air containers are not considered as packages.

Individually packaged part of a lot, including contents which is so as to constitute a sales unit to the final user or consumer at the point of purchase.

Pre-packages are sales packages such as the packaging encloses the foodstuff completely or only partially, but in such a way that the contents cannot be altered without opening or changing the packaging. Protective films covering single produce are not considered as a pre-package.

Quantity of produce to be sold by a given trader found at the time of inspection and defined by a document. A consignment may consist of one or several types of produce; it may contain one or several lots of fresh, dry or dried fruit and vegetables.

Quantity of produce which, at the time of inspection at one place, has similar characteristics with regard to:

• packer and/or dispatcher

• country of origin

• nature of produce

• class of produce

• size (if the produce is graded according to size)

• variety or commercial type (according to the relevant provisions of the standard)

• type of packaging and presentation.

However, if during the conformity check of consignments (as defined in point 1.3), it is difficult to distinguish between different lots and/or presentation of individual lots is not possible, all lots of a specific consignment may be treated as one lot if they are similar in regard to type of produce, dispatcher, country of origin, class and variety or commercial type, if this is provided for in the relevant marketing standard.

Collective samples taken temporarily from a lot during conformity check.

Package taken at random from the lot, in case of packed produce or, in case of bulk produce (direct loading into a transport vehicle or compartment thereof), a quantity taken at random from a point in the lot.

Several primary samples supposed to be representative for the lot so that the total quantity is sufficient to allow the assessment of the lot with regard to all criteria.

An equal quantity of produce taken at random from the primary sample.

In the case of packed nuts, the secondary sample shall weigh between 300 g and 1 kg. If the primary sample is made up of packages containing sales packages, the secondary sample shall be one or more sales packages that in aggregate are at least 300 g.

In the case of other packed produce, the secondary sample shall comprise 30 units, in case the net weight of the package is 25 kg or less and the package does not contain any sales packages. In certain cases this means that the whole content of the package has to be checked, if the primary sample contains not more than 30 units.

A composite sample is a mix, weighing at least 3 kg, of all the secondary samples taken from the bulk sample. Produce in the composite sample shall be evenly mixed.

Quantity of produce taken at random from the bulk or composite sample whose size is restricted to the minimum quantity necessary but sufficient to allow the assessment of certain individual criteria.

If the inspection method would destroy the produce, the size of the reduced sample shall not exceed 10 % of the bulk sample or, in the case of nuts in shell, 100 nuts taken from the composite sample. In the case of small dry or dried products (i.e. 100 g include more than 100 units) the reduced sample shall not exceed 300 g.

For the assessment of criteria on the degree of the development and/or ripeness, the constitution of the sampling shall be done according to the objective methods described in the Guidance on Objective Tests to Determine Quality of Fruit and Vegetables and Dry and Dried Produce (http://www.oecd.org/agr/fv).

Several reduced samples may be taken from a bulk or composite sample in order to check the conformity of the lot against different criteria.