CAC/GL 83-2013 PRINCIPLES FOR THE USE OF SAMPLING AND TESTING IN INTERNATIOAL FOOD TRADE
SECTION 1 - INTRODUCTION
1. Sampling and testing are, among others, procedures utilized to assess whether foods in trade are compliant with particular specifications. These procedures may affect the probabilities of wrongly accepting or wrongly rejecting a lot or consignment. Therefore these probabilities should be evaluated so that they can be controlled to acceptable levels for affected parties. The absence of defined, scientifically valid procedures could lead to ad hoc practices being used, resulting in inconsistent decisions and an increased occurrence of disputes.
2. To ensure the sampling and testing procedures are valid, they should be based upon scientific, internationally accepted principles, and it is necessary to ensure that they can be applied fairly. With regard to sampling, the General Guidelines on Sampling states that “Codex Methods of Sampling are designed to ensure that fair and valid sampling procedures are used when food is being tested for compliance with a particular Codex commodity standard.” With regard to testing, the methods of analysis endorsed by Codex should be considered first.
3. Sampling and testing procedures are often used in international food trade for the purpose of risk management related to safety. For this purpose, sampling and testing procedures should be established as an integral part of a national food control system to the extent possible.
