s 



MISC. PUBLICATION 5 98, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



of forwarding them should be prepaid. For example, packers may 

 send to the processed products laboratories samples of their daily packs 

 for daily check on quality ; chain stores or grocery buyers may submit 

 samples drawn from lots they expect to buy ; or a consumer group may 

 submit samples of a product which it is studying. Certificates on 

 samples that are so submitted cover the inspection of the individual 

 samples only. 



2. Samples that are selected by a Federal inspector are termed "offi- 

 cially drawn samples." The samples thus selected are chosen and 

 drawn at random in such manner that they are representative of the lot 

 from which taken. That means that the official inspector must select 

 samples of sufficient number to be representative of the size of the lot ; 

 and the samples must be chosen from the top, sides, bottom, and center 

 of the warehoused lots to obtain samples so that the inspection will give 

 a true picture of the lot inspected. Inspection certificates on samples 

 drawn in this manner will cover the entire lot rather than the individ- 

 ual samples. 



How many samples are drawn for inspection? 



The number varies according to the type of commodity — canned, 

 frozen, or dried — and to the size of the containers. The number 

 of samples from 1,000 cases (or 24,000 cans) of No. 2 size container, 

 a common size purchased by housewives, would be 12 cans. Each 



USDA N-5993 

 'iguee 5. — Federal inspectors make technical analyses of many kinds. Here an 

 inspector fits a prepared slide under a microscope to complete an examination 

 of tomato juice. 



