Sampling of Powder Dairy Products

I hope someone can help me address this issue! We export product to the US and other countries where sampling on site by our local Dept of Agriculture must happen prior to despatch. The department sample by choosing a representative number of bags from a code, we take them to the sampling room and they then proceed to sample by opening the bag on the top, removing the stitching, unsealing the bag and then take their sample. The product then remains open until we take it out of the sampling room and take it to the stitching room and re seal and stitich it. The bag has a polly propylene internal liner and is a double paper bag. I'm relatively new to the food industry but to me this practice is both cumbersome and open to external contamination and there is potential for mix-up. In pharma I was familiar with the process of using a sampling thief to extract a sample from a bag of powder. the puncture made by the sampling thief on the liner was then sealed with a "sampled" label as was the external surface of the paper bag hence it was clearly obvious to the customer that the bag had been sample at plant pre shipment...........Is this process not commonly practiced in food? I'm planning on discussing changing the method with our local Dept official but would really appreciate some expert feedback before hand.
Many thanks in advance

Dairy

Is there nobody out there who can advise???

Dairy

Is there nobody out there who can advise???

Dairy

In the past I have sampled bags of powder where we opened both the sack and the poly liner, before sealing the poly liner with a castrating ring, and then sealing the bag down with brown tape. These bags were returned to the powder sealing room for resealing / disposal

I've never used a sample thief.

Caz

Is there nobody out there who can advise???

Dairy

Dear dairy,

Actual product ??

I am not a powder, or thief sampling expert but the method is certainly well- used for some bagged foods, eg -

http://www.fao.org/d...0E/V5380E06.htm

But i always assumed (without verifying) that it was a relatively "crude" technique (but obviously also related to product uniformity). Perhaps wrongly.??

I did note one (non-Irish) possible "dairy" caveat (pg 16, para2) in this official compilation -

http://www.food.gov....idancepart2.pdf

IMEX the choice of food sampling methods is often the result of long established practices depending on experience with specific commodities, presentation, accuracy requirements etc. Also IMEX, faulty procedures are nonetheless common, due for example to local or statistical constraints.

A food sampling textbook is called for.

Rgds / Charles.C

Hi Dairy.
I'm in the same industry and found your current sampling in a segregated room less of a risk than sampling by means of a trier(thief) for the following reasons:
1)sampling takes place under controlled conditions and by physically opening the bag, other deviations can be easier spotted
2)Depending for the purpose op sampling, it is more of a risk to take an aseptic sample where the trier is pushed through normally a paper and inner liner of the bag.
3) If both layers are properly sealed thereafter with a lable or secure method, it should not be a problem. We found that sometimes only the outer layer was sealed and resulting in powder slip in between the layers that can create other risks and is unacceptable for the client.

Hazard

Hi Dairy,

The following attachment would help you with the methods of analysis and sampling just to compliment.

Regards,

Agwanda