A pervasive trend exists to take larger and more frequent samples to address microbial contamination. This trend has touched almonds and is expected to hit other nut products. Various low-moisture powders have been shown to be very heterogeneous with regard to pathogen contamination. If experience holds true, then increased sample size and increasing numbers of samples will only marginally improve the situation, providing a superficially satisfying solution until it no longer satisfies. All food safety practitioners know that the underlying problems will be solved only by process and practice changes. It is impossible to test safety into a product. In the meantime, and to assist in the development and implementation of these improvements, perhaps it is time to invest in an improved sampling approach. 

Other industries are exploring aggregated sampling, an approach to sample the surface of larger amounts of product to effectively increase sample size and achieve better representation in fewer samples. This patented technique has been promoted by Tommy Wheeler, Ph.D., and Terrance Arthur, Ph.D., two U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (USDA ARS) researchers at Clay Center in Nebraska. USDA has officially recognized an aggregated sampling technique for beef trim. Its use has been growing for the past several years under a letter of no objection, with plant-by-plant validation. This approach is spreading to poultry and pork.