Before you send samples
- Request a quote using the quote form or at [email protected]. State the product (matrix), the tests and the number of samples.
- If you need accredited results, say so in your request. Check the test and the matrix in the test catalogue or in the annex to the accreditation certificate.
- Let us know the samples are on their way at [email protected].
Opening hours and address
- Sample reception: Monday – Friday, 08:00 – 17:00.
- Samples received after 13:00 are registered and start testing on the next working day.
- Address: 202 Splaiul Independenței, ICECHIM Building, 4th floor, District 6, 060021 Bucharest, Romania.
- Sample reception and test reports: [email protected], phone +40 31 410 2020.
Containers and quantities
Drinking water. Separate samples are taken for physico-chemical and for microbiological testing.
- Physico-chemical: clean 0.2–2 L bottles with a screw or ground-glass stopper. Polyethylene or polypropylene bottles are used for metals. Glass bottles are used for extractable substances, detergents, organic micropollutants, cyanides and dissolved oxygen.
- Microbiology: a sterile 0.25–1 L bottle that stays closed until sampling. For chlorinated water the bottle contains sodium thiosulphate to neutralise residual chlorine. The minimum quantity is 1 L.
Food. Packaged products are sent in their original, unopened packaging. Unpackaged products are sent in clean, sealed food-grade containers or bags. For microbiological testing the containers or bags must be sterile and the sample taken aseptically. One sample unit is 200–500 g or 200–500 mL. Smaller packs are combined to reach at least 200 g.
Minimum quantities for physico-chemical testing:
| Product | Minimum quantity |
|---|---|
| Meat and meat products | 250–300 g. Packaged products: 2 % of the units in the lot, but at least 2 pieces or 300 g |
| Fish | 100 g loose; 2 specimens of packaged product; 3 containers of canned fish |
| Honey | 3 packs × 250 g |
| Milk | 500 mL of raw milk; 2–3 units from the lot of drinking milk |
| Dairy products | original packaging, for packs up to 1 kg; otherwise 250–500 g or mL |
| Food additives | 300 g |
| Confectionery and pastry | whole packs; 250 g loose |
Contaminants. The minimum sample quantity and how the laboratory sample is made up follow the EU act for each category:
- pesticide residues: Directive 2002/63/EC;
- metals (lead, cadmium, mercury, inorganic tin) and benzo(a)pyrene: Regulation (EC) No 333/2007, as amended;
- mycotoxins: Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2782.
Transport and storage
Water. The sample is transported on the day of sampling, chilled at 5 ± 3 °C and protected from light. If transport takes more than 8 hours, the temperature is monitored throughout. For microbiological testing, the maximum time from sampling to the laboratory, transport included, depends on the parameter:
- total colony count: 8 hours (12 hours accepted);
- E. coli, coliform bacteria, enterococci: 12 hours (18 hours accepted);
- sulphite-reducing bacteria: 24 hours.
Food. Transport should keep the product’s storage conditions as closely as possible, and the sample must reach the laboratory within 24 hours. Transport temperatures:
- shelf-stable products: ambient, below 40 °C;
- frozen products: below −15 °C, preferably ≤ −18 °C;
- perishable products: 1–8 °C.
Samples for microbiological testing are started within 24 hours of receipt and within 48 hours of sampling.
At reception we check the integrity of the packaging, the temperature of the sample and its appearance. If the sample was not transported under the conditions above, the laboratory consults the client. The sample is tested only with the client’s express agreement, and the test report states that the results may be affected by the deviation.
Documents accompanying the sample
The sample comes with the ICA order form (F-01-PG-ICA-7.1). We also accept the client’s own form, a monitoring plan set by contract, the ICA quote or a technical specification, provided it contains:
- the client’s details: name, address, tax ID, contact person;
- the product name, lot and expiry date;
- storage conditions (temperature, shelf life);
- the quantity sent and, where applicable, the quantity for the counter-sample;
- the tests requested;
- agreement to subcontracting, where applicable;
- any special requirements.
If the label data differ from the documents, the ICA order confirmed by the client prevails. Samples taken by ICA staff are also accompanied by the sampling record, with the place, date and time of sampling, the sampler, temperature, container and preservation method.
Sampling
ICA R&D can take samples of water (distribution networks, tanks, wells, springs, swimming pools) and of food (pre-packed or loose, solid or liquid), based on a sampling plan agreed with the client. Samples are transported sealed and the temperature is recorded on collection. Sampling is not part of the laboratory’s RENAR accreditation scope.
For more details, contact the sales department.