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Food products are generally complex, heterogeneous amalgamations of ingredients and raw materials which can be inherently variable. In assuring the safety and quality of materials throughout the supply chain, it is critical to manage the risk associated with sampling and analysis. Often the weakest link in management processes is product sampling, not the accuracy of analytical methods. False positives or negatives risk safety and quality, with implications for brand equity, reputation  and viability of products. This session will consider the importance of a rigorous approach to sampling and provide practical illustrations of the impact of incorrect sampling techniques. This presentation will review examples of the challenges of sampling for safety and quality in grain. In the safety arena, the mycotoxin content of grains is a key area of concern.  Mycotoxins are generated by fungal infection, either in the field in the case of the Fusarium mycotoxins DON and ZON, or during storage in the case of aflatoxins. Infection tends to be unevenly distributed (either in the field or in storage), so that ‘hot spots’ of infection and mycotoxin generation occur. Sampling for mycotoxin content in wheat requires a systematic and statistically-sound approach to generate a representative sample for analysis. An unrepresentative  sample containing a mycotoxin ‘hot-spot’ can easily lead to a false positive and rejection of an otherwise sound cargo. A false negative result could result in dangerous material entering the food chain. In the quality arena, a similar issue of ‘hot spots’ occurs in pre-harvest sprouting, leading to localised high levels of a-amylase (and so low Hagberg Falling Numbers). This could lead to an otherwise sound cargo being rejected or adjusted. In both cases, appropriate sampling and analysis is essential in managing the risks involved producing safe foods.