Overview
ISO 6497:2002 - "Animal feeding stuffs - Sampling" specifies standardized methods for sampling animal feedingstuffs (including fish feed) for quality control in commercial, technical and legal contexts. The standard is not applicable to pet foods and is not intended for microbiological sampling. It covers how to take increments, produce bulk and laboratory samples, and prepare samples for analysis, with separate procedures for different physical product types. Annex A provides guidance for sampling substances that are likely to be non‑uniformly distributed (e.g., mycotoxins).
Key topics and requirements
- Scope and exclusions: Applies to feed and fish feed for analytical and legal testing; excludes pet food and microbiological sampling.
- Product classification: Sampling procedures are tailored by product class - grains/seeds/pellets, meals/powders, roughages, licks/blocks, and liquids/semi‑liquids.
- Representative sampling principles: Repeated increments from different locations are combined into a bulk sample, then reduced to laboratory samples. The aim is a sample that represents the lot mean.
- Lot definition and handling: A lot is an identified quantity with presumed uniform characteristics; heterogeneous or damaged portions should be separated or recorded in the sampling report.
- Sampling plans and statistics: The standard uses a square‑root relationship to determine increment numbers relative to lot size and gives practical guidance (e.g., minimum increments for small lots).
- Equipment and cleanliness: Specifies suitable manual and mechanical samplers (spears, triers, riffle dividers, sampling tubes, dippers), and stresses clean, dry, contaminant‑free apparatus and disposable gloves.
- Sample containers and preservation: Containers must be clean, sealable, inert and often opaque for photosensitive vitamins (A, D3, folic acid, B2, C). Liquid and semi‑liquid samples require airtight, suitable materials.
- Sample types and sizes: Defines increment, bulk sample, reduced sample and laboratory sample; recommends producing multiple laboratory samples (typically three or four) and retaining reference portions.
- Documentation: Procedures for sealing, marking and a required sampling report are specified.
Applications and users
ISO 6497:2002 is used for:
- Feed manufacturers and feed mills - routine QC and in‑house sampling protocols.
- Analytical laboratories - receiving and validating representative laboratory samples.
- Regulatory and inspection agencies - enforcing feed safety, composition and labeling requirements.
- Commodity traders and import/export authorities - verifying consignment quality during loading/unloading.
- Aquafeed producers - applying specific fish feed sampling rules under the standard.
Keywords: ISO 6497:2002, animal feeding stuffs sampling, feed sampling methods, feed quality control, sampling equipment, sample containers, mycotoxins sampling.
Related standards
ISO 6497 notes that for certain feed categories, specific sampling methods exist in other International Standards (listed in its bibliography). When such specific standards apply, they take precedence for those product categories.
