Recently, California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Center for Analytical Chemistry (CAC) staff had the opportunity to partake in the process of obtaining fertilizer samples they would later analyze.
CDFA regulatory activities include obtaining samples of fertilizing materials and analyzing them to ensure the fertilizer is safe, effective and meets registered label claims and guarantees. In CDFA’s Inspection Services Division, fertilizer samples are obtained by Fertilizing Materials Inspection Program (FMIP) field staff and then analyzed in the CAC laboratory.
For CAC’s Regulatory Analysis team to better understand the entire process, they stepped away from the laboratory to shadow Feed, Fertilizer and Livestock Drugs Regulatory Services (FFLDRS) Branch FMIP staff as they performed inspections, sampling and other duties in the field.
CAC scientists learned the inspection process, observed various sampling techniques and performed some of them. This opportunity provided a valuable way to connect field sampling, regulatory inspection and laboratory analysis into one continuous process. It also strengthened collaboration between the Fertilizer Field Inspection team and CAC Regulatory Analysis team.