The sample for testing should be drawn by someone who works for you, not for the seller. That can be you in person, your agent or an independent inspection company. The seller should be present and can sign the sampling record, but should not pick the bags or carry the sample to the lab.
The reason is simple. A lab can only test what it receives. If the seller chooses what it receives, the result describes the seller's choice, not your lot.
Each option compared
- Seller draws: quick and cheap, but gives you the least assurance. Acceptable only for early approval samples.
- Buyer draws: strong evidence, but rarely practical for each lot unless you visit India often.
- Agent draws: practical and independent, if the agent is paid by you and not by the factory.
- Inspection company draws: independent and recognised, and often named in contracts. Check its staff know the product.
- Joint sampling: buyer's representative and seller draw together and both sign. Useful where a dispute is likely.
When the sample should be drawn
The key moment is when the lot is finished, packed and marked, before it is loaded. Sampling earlier, from raw material or work in progress, can miss what happens during cleaning, sterilisation or packing. Sampling later, at the port, is too late to fix anything.
For the difference between early and final samples, see pre-shipment versus approval samples.
How a sample should be drawn
ISO 948 sets out general sampling for spices and condiments, and many contracts refer to it. For mycotoxins the EU has its own sampling rules for official controls, which take more and larger increments because aflatoxin is unevenly spread. Your contract can name the method to follow.
- Pick bags at random from across the stack, not from the front row.
- Take increments from the top, middle and bottom of each bag with a suitable probe.
- Combine increments into an aggregate sample, then divide it into equal parts.
- Seal and code each part: one for the lab, one for the seller, one kept as a counter-sample.
- Record bag numbers, lot number, seal numbers, date, time and who was present.
- Send the lab sample by a route the seller does not control.
Agree it before you order
Put the sampling arrangement in the contract: who draws, by which method, which lab, and that this result decides acceptance at origin. Agree how a dispute will be settled, for example by testing the counter-sample at a second named lab. This saves argument later, when money and time are both short.
How we help
We draw samples ourselves at the factory, from the packed lot, and seal and code them in front of the supplier. We send them to the lab and keep a counter-sample for you. To arrange this for your next order, ask for a free sourcing review.