AOAC Official Method 934.05 Sampling of Fruits
Procedure
(a) Boxed dried fruit.—Remove cover, bottom, or one side of box, as convenient. Remove block comprising 1 8 of contents of box taken from one corner as follows: With sharp knife make vertical cut midway between ends of box to center of top surface, extending cut half way to bottom. Make another vertical cut midway between sides of box, extending half way to bottom, and continue it until it meets first cut. Remove all fruit included in angle formed by the 2 cuts. Working rapidly, break up lumps, mix thoroughly, and take enough sample to fill quart (1 L) Mason jar, replacing remainder in box. Seal jar and send to laboratory. Sample enough boxes from different parts of pile to constitute at least square root of lot.
(b) Frozen pack fruit in barrels.—Use stainless steel or corrosion- resistant tube ca 3 cm (1.25 in) diameter and 90 cm (36 in) long, one end serrated and set to run freely, other end with removable cap and arrangement for use of electric motor in drilling. To aid in removal of core samples use wooden ram smaller in diameter but longer than tube.
Remove bottom of barrel and take 3 cores evenly spaced around its circumference near chime, parallel to and through full length of barrel. Take fourth core at approximately center of barrel.
(c) Frozen pack fruit in small containers 13.6–22.7 kg (30–50 lb).—Use modified corrosion-resistant auger 2.5–3.0 cm (1–1.5 in.) diameter and 50 cm (19 in.) long that can be operated by electric motor. (Auger should have no lead screw or cutters and angle of face should not be flat but 170–175°.) Collect borings in corrosion-resistant sampling can ca 15 cm (6 in.) diameter and 10 cm (4 in.) high, open at one end, with outlet at other end ca 2.5 cm (1 in.) long and of diameter slightly larger than that of auger. Place sampling can on surface of frozen fruit and operate auger through small opening at bottom. Take 3 vertical cores evenly spaced around circumference and ca 1.3 cm (0.5 in.) from edge of container and take 1 core at or near center. Remove both sampling can and auger simultaneously to prevent borings from falling through delivery outlet.
References: JAOAC 17, 66(1934); 30, 274(1947).
