Sampling is largely outside the control of the Public Analyst.
Local authorities have a duty to check the safety of food and to provide adequate protection of the consumer. To achieve that, they devise sampling plans, seeking to balance their need to monitor food against limited resources and other demands on their budgets. A typical sampling plan for a local authority might include samples of the following:
* samples from a particular source - a supermarket, manufacturer or caterer or country
* meat products - to check %meat or %fat or non-meat  or additives or species
* product marketing claims
* undeclared ingredients in prepared foods
* contaminated products
* nutritional content of prepared meals