CHAPTER III: SAMPLING AND ANALYSIS

Sampling and analysis methods used in the context of official controls shall comply with relevant Community rules or, if no such rules exist, with internationally recognised rules or protocols, for example those that the European Committee for standardisation (CEN) has accepted or those agreed in national legislation; or, in the absence of the above, with other methods fit for the intended purpose or developed in accordance with scientific protocols. Where paragraph 1 does not apply, validation of methods of analysis may take place within a single laboratory according to an internationally accepted protocol. Wherever possible, methods of analysis shall be characterised by the appropriate criteria set out in Annex III. The following implementing measures may be taken in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 62(3): methods of sampling and analysis, including the confirmatory or reference methods to be used in the event of a dispute; performance criteria, analysis parameters, measurement uncertainty and procedures for the validation of the methods referred to in (a); and rules on the interpretation of results. The competent authorities shall establish adequate procedures in order to guarantee the right of feed and food business operators whose products are subject to sampling and analysis to apply for a supplementary expert opinion, without prejudice to the obligation of competent authorities to take prompt action in case of emergency. In particular, they shall ensure that feed and food business operators can obtain sufficient numbers of samples for a supplementary expert opinion, unless impossible in case of highly perishable products or very low quantity of available substrate. Samples must be handled and labelled in such a way as to guarantee both their legal and analytical validity. The competent authority shall designate laboratories that may carry out the analysis of samples taken during official controls. However, competent authorities may only designate laboratories that operate and are assessed and accredited in accordance with the following European Standards: EN ISO/IEC 17025 on "General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories"; EN 45002 on "General criteria for the assessment of testing laboratories"; EN 45003 on "Calibration and testing laboratory accreditation system-General requirements for operation and recognition", taking into account criteria for different testing methods laid down in Community feed and food law. The accreditation and assessment of testing laboratories referred to in paragraph 2 may relate to individual tests or groups of tests. The competent authority may cancel the designation referred to in paragraph 1 when the conditions referred to in paragraph 2 are no longer fulfilled.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-01 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.