Division 3 Transport of samples

The samples shall be transported in refrigerated containers and must be kept at between 2 to 8 °C and free from external contamination during transportation.

All ready-to-eat food samples must reach the laboratory within 24 hours of the time of sampling.

In exceptional circumstances the transportation time may exceed 24 hours. However, the transportation time shall not be longer than 48 hours and shall in no circumstances lead to testing being carried out after the sell by date of the product collected for sampling.