Vegetables and fruits, non-frozen

Definition

Vegetables, fruits and parts of plants, also prepared or preserved; boxed dried products; preparations made of vegetables, fruits and similar products, fresh, chilled, salted, in brine, dried or smoked.

For nuts see specific card for Loose grain and seeds.

For tobacco see specific card for Tobacco.

For frozen vegetables and fruits, see specific card for Vegetables and fruits, frozen.

For products in individual packages, including live plants see specific card for Retail packages and finished articles.

Recommended minimum quantity for each final sample

1 kg

Applicable standards (ISO and EU Norms) and relevant legislation

ISO 7002 Agricultural food products — Layout for a standard method of sampling from a lot.
ISO 874 Fresh fruits and vegetables — Sampling.

You should also refer to your national legislation and national guidelines regarding sampling.

Equipment needed

Suggested sampling tool depending on the method used

Zone sampler (S02-01)
Sampling trowel (S03-01)
Spear-type sampler (S01-01)
Sample dividing equipment (D01-01)

Containers to be used for the sampling

Plastic bags, different designs and sizes (P00)
Plastic bottles, wide mouth opening, size 500 ml -1 000 ml (P03, P04)
Paper bags, different designs and sizes (R00, R01) or linen bags


P00	P03	P04	R00	R01

The containers must be made of a material suitable for food.

Safety precautions and risk assessment

You should be aware of and follow any health and safety instructions in the local risk assessment and/or safe working practices for the location where the sampling is to take place.
See Health and Safety for the Sampling of Food Products for detailed advice on hygiene and risks for fresh fruit and vegetables foods.
The hygiene of food products must be maintained.
Ensure you have clean and appropriate PPE for the circumstances.
Products of vegetable origin can be dusty or infested with agents that are dangerous to human health. Officers should make a risk assessment when they have sighted the consignment.
Officers should wear appropriate respiratory protection for exposure to dust.
High levels of dust in the air in combination with static electricity may generate a fire or explosion.

Sampling plan

Type of consignment	Procedure
Consignments for customs clearance
	The aggregate sample consists of an appropriate number of incremental samples. When you are satisfied the consignment is homogeneous, one incremental sample is usually taken as representing the goods covered by the same customs declaration.
Loose in carriages, tanks or container
	Take one or more aggregate samples from incremental samples by random selection or systematically from the consignment or at not less than five conventional points (one in the middle plus four at the midpoints between the centre and the apexes at various heights). More aggregate samples may be created from containers containing different products or lots. Where the goods are in large bulk containers it is recommended that you draw samples during loading or discharge.
Vegetables and fruits in brine
	Take one aggregate sample using a steel ladle and latex gloves, take the quantities of product (e.g. vegetables or fruits in brine) from the drums or barrels to form the aggregate sample.
Transport packages, barrels, drums, cases, tins
	One or more aggregate samples: from incremental samples (one or more depending on the product homogeneity, number of containers) drawn from the middle of each container chosen randomly or systematically throughout the consignment, see 1.3 Sampling from transport packages in the General part. An aggregate sample may be formed only from containers from the same lot contained in the same consignment. If there are several lots, they should be identified and sampled separately. If possible, properly homogenize the content of the container before sampling.
Consignments of mixed plant parts
	Take one aggregate sample: by random selection from different parts of the consignment, at least five conventional points (one at the top, three at different depths in the middle, and one at the bottom). Consignments of mixed plants may be subject to a much wider variation throughout the package. Different particle sizes and specific gravity may lead to concentrations of different ingredients throughout the package. Your sampling plan must take these variations into account to ensure the aggregate sample is representative of the consignment as a whole. Similar care must be taken when dividing your aggregate sample to ensure that each final sample is representative of the whole. Sacks and boxes (5 - 50 kg) For small parts of plants (e.g. herb tea) a spear sampler or zone sampler pushed into the sack from the top to the bottom may be sufficient to draw representative samples. For large parts of plants (e.g. ginseng roots) or mixtures containing these, it will be necessary to use other means: Empty the sack or box on a clean flat surface and use the quartering method. Lay the sack flat and cut an opening along the whole length and use a scoop to draw samples at various positions throughout the sack. Where the consignment is large and it is not disproportionate - it may be preferable to take whole bags or boxes as samples. Pallet boxes and big bags (>50 kg) For small parts of plants (e.g. herb tea) a spear sampler or zone sampler pushed into the sack from the top to the bottom may be sufficient to draw representative samples. For large parts of plants (e.g. ginseng roots) or mixtures containing these, it will be necessary to use other means: If possible, empty the sack or box on a clean flat surface and use the quartering method. Sampling may also be carried out when the product is discharged or moved to another container. Incremental samples should be drawn throughout the discharge.
Hemp from commercial plantations
	Samples must represent the average appearance (growth) of vegetation and quality of the harvest. At least 30 cm parts of female plants are taken from the field as samples. The male plants are not collected. Plants are collected during their blossoming systematically from different field parts excluding field borders.

Handling of samples

General comments
	Different lots must be sampled separately. Labels on the packing may indicate whether the consignment contains different production batches or dates and whether the products in different lots vary in quality. Open, broken or damaged containers or products about to expire or beyond the expiry date would not usually be sampled unless there are particular reasons for doing so. Using the sampling equipment and/or latex gloves, take the incremental samples of product and bring them together in a plastic container for food use to form a single aggregate sample. Where a consignment is transported in a container with more than one distinct zone or section, each zone or section must be treated separately for sampling purposes.
Sampling form
	Fill in the sampling form. One copy should be attached to the samples and one copy should be kept for the record. Record the state of the samples when taken — fresh, chilled, dried or salted — and indicate if you have frozen them.
Transport
	Deliver fresh and chilled samples to the laboratory promptly. If samples are not transported immediately, they should be stored in either a refrigerator or a freezer. Chilled samples should be chilled rapidly at a temperature of between 0 and 5 °C prior to shipping. Coolants: plastic containers filled with refrigerant are needed to keep sample units cool. If the product is highly perishable or at an advanced stage of maturity, the product must be frozen in order to prevent further deterioration.
Storage
	Fresh and chilled samples should be stored in a refrigerator. Maintain the samples at a temperature of between 0 and 5 °C; the cooling chain should be recorded. If the product is highly perishable or at an advanced stage of maturity, the product must be frozen in order to prevent further deterioration. The cooling chain should be monitored and recorded.

List of HS Codes

*HS Number ^)**	Decription
0601	Bulbs, tubers, tuberous roots, corms, crowns and rhizomes, dormant, in growth or in flower; chicory plants and roots other than roots of heading 1212
0602	Other live plants (including their roots), cuttings and slips; mushroom spawn
0603	Cut flowers and flower buds of a kind suitable for bouquets or for ornamental purposes, fresh, dried, dyed, bleached, impregnated or otherwise prepared
0604	Foliage, branches and other parts of plants, without flowers or flower buds, and grasses, mosses and lichens, being goods of a kind suitable for bouquets or for ornamental purposes, fresh, dried, dyed, bleached, impregnated or otherwise prepared
0701	Potatoes, fresh or chilled.
0702	Tomatoes, fresh or chilled.
0703	Onions, shallots, garlic, leeks and other alliaceous vegetables, fresh or chilled.
0704	Cabbages, cauliflowers, kohlrabi, kale and similar edible brassicas, fresh or chilled.
0705	Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and chicory (Cichorium spp.), fresh or chilled
0706	Carrots, turnips, salad beetroot, salsify, celeriac, radishes and similar edible roots, fresh or chilled.
0707	Cucumbers and gherkins, fresh or chilled.
0708	Leguminous vegetables, shelled or unshelled, fresh or chilled.
0709	Other vegetables, fresh or chilled.
0711	Vegetables provisionally preserved (for example, by sulphur dioxide gas, in brine, in sulphur water or in other preservative solutions), but unsuitable in that state for immediate consumption.
0712	Dried vegetables, whole, cut, sliced, broken or in powder, but not further prepared.
0713	Dried leguminous vegetables, shelled, whether or not skinned or split.
0714	Manioc, arrowroot, salep, Jerusalem artichokes, sweet potatoes and similar roots and tubers with high starch or inulin content, fresh, chilled, frozen or dried, whether or not sliced or in the form of pellets; sago pith.
0803	Bananas, including plantains, fresh or dried.
0804	Dates, figs, pineapples, avocados, guavas, mangoes and mangosteens, fresh or dried.
0805	Citrus fruit, fresh or dried.
0806	Grapes, fresh or dried.
0807	Melons (including watermelons) and papaws (papayas), fresh.
0808	Apples, pears and quinces, fresh.
0809	Apricots, cherries, peaches (including nectarines), plums and sloes, fresh.
0810	Other fruit, fresh.
0812	Fruit and nuts, provisionally preserved (for example, by sulphur dioxide gas, in brine, in sulphur water or in other preservative solutions), but unsuitable in that state for immediate consumption.
0813	Fruit, dried, other than that of headings 0801 to 0806; mixtures of nuts or dried fruits of this chapter.
0814	Peel of citrus fruit or melons (including watermelons), fresh, frozen, dried or provisionally preserved in brine, in sulphur water or in other preservative solutions.
1211	Plants and parts of plants (including seeds and fruits), of a kind used primarily in perfumery, in pharmacy or for insecticidal, fungicidal or similar purposes, fresh or dried, whether or not cut, crushed or powdered
1212	Locust beans, seaweeds and other algae, sugar beet and sugar cane, fresh, chilled, frozen or dried, whether or not ground; fruit stones and kernels and other vegetable products (including unroasted chicory roots of the variety Cichorium intybus sativum ) of a kind used primarily for human consumption, not elsewhere specified or included.
1214	Swedes, mangolds, fodder roots, hay, lucerne (alfalfa), clover, sainfoin, forage kale, lupines, vetches and similar forage products, whether or not in the form of pellets.
2001	Vegetables, fruit, nuts and other edible parts of plants, prepared or preserved by vinegar or acetic acid.
2002	Tomatoes prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid.
2003	Mushrooms and truffles, prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid.
2005	Other vegetables, prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid, not frozen, other than products of heading 2006.
2006	Vegetables, fruit, nuts, fruit-peel and other parts of plants, preserved by sugar (drained, glace pr crystallised).
2008	Fruit, nuts and other edible parts of plants, otherwise prepared or preserved, whether or not containing, added sugar or other sweetening matter or spirit, not elsewhere specified or included.

^*) The commodities mentioned may also be covered by other specific sampling cards depending on their precise nature.

Vegetables and fruits, non-frozen | SAM-116