Products from two or more product groups of ecological fruit and vegetables are analysed in approximately four-weekly cycles. Added to these are risk-oriented samplings of conspicuous products or suppliers. Some 20 - 30 samples come together in this way per action.
The products to be sampled are selected by the Advisory Council on the basis of the seasonal market situation and the degree of likelihood that inadmissible growing agents (e.g. pesticides) have been deployed.
The Coordination Office performs an all-embracing market survey for these products shortly before the planned drawing of samples. It selects the goods to be sampled and requires the affiliated wholesalers, importers and exporters to draw a sample defined in advance. The Coordination Office commissions a packet delivery service in the name of BNN Herstellung und Handel and the laboratories in the name of the participant. The commissioning party for the sample is thus the company which draws the sample.
The main focus lies on analyses of chemical-synthetic crop protection agents. As this concerns a heterogeneous group of different pesticides which require different methods of targeted analysis, BNN Herstellung und Handel has been able to secure the know-how of the two leading laboratories for organic foodstuffs, the Dr. Specht & Partner laboratory in Hamburg and the Fresenius Institute in Berlin. Depending on the level of hazard, one or more analyses per product are performed. The number of samples/year is planned in agreement with the Advisory Council.
By participating in the BNN-monitoring, each participant agrees that the analysis results are used within the system. The commissioning party consents to these being passed on to third parties on a case-by-case basis. The commissioning party therefore agrees that analysis results are passed to upstream suppliers and certification bodies in order to clarify any discrepancies.