Food Three Class Sampling Plan

Evaluate an n/c/m/M-style three-class food plate-count plan using caller limits, not a universal food-safety determination.

Description

A three-class sampling plan separates acceptable, marginal and unacceptable observed counts.

A three-class sampling plan separates acceptable, marginal and unacceptable observed counts. Its n/c/m/M-style decision depends on the supplied limits and the number of marginal samples allowed.^[1]

Evaluate an n/c/m/M-style three-class food plate-count plan using caller limits, not a universal food-safety determination.

When to use Food Three Class Sampling Plan

Use this tool to evaluate an n/c/m/M-style three-class food plate-count plan using caller limits, not a universal food-safety determination.

Prepare the sample, count, growth or assay measurements requested by this tool. Confirm units, sampling periods and reporting bases; supply independently established comparison criteria where requested.

How to use Food Three Class Sampling Plan and understand its results

Prepare the sample, count, growth or assay measurements requested by this tool. Confirm units, sampling periods and reporting bases; supply independently established comparison criteria where requested.
Enter sampleCountsPerGram, acceptableLimit, maximumLimit, maximumMarginalSamples using the field table and calculation rules, then run the tool.
Read marginalSampleIndexes, unacceptableSampleIndexes, planSatisfied. The explanation below defines the units, signs, ordering and any flags or placeholder values.
If the tool reports an input issue, correct the values and run it again. Apply the stated assumptions when interpreting a successfully returned result.

Input field	Meaning	Value type; see rules below	Requirement
sampleCountsPerGram	Sample counts per gram	list of number	Required
acceptableLimit	Acceptable limit	number; minimum: 0	Required
maximumLimit	Maximum limit	number	Required
maximumMarginalSamples	Maximum marginal samples	integer; minimum: 0	Required

Enter a nonempty list of nonnegative counts/g, nonnegative acceptable limit m, ordered maximum M and integer marginal allowance c within the sample count. Return zero-based marginal/unacceptable indices and planSatisfied. Counts equal to m are acceptable; equal to M are marginal when above m.

marginal: m<count≤M; unacceptable: count>M; satisfied if none unacceptable and marginalCount≤c

Units, indexing, boundary conditions and exceptional cases are defined in the calculation rules above.

Output field	Meaning	Value type
marginalSampleIndexes	Marginal sample indexes	list of number
unacceptableSampleIndexes	Unacceptable sample indexes	list of number
planSatisfied	Plan satisfied	boolean

json

{
  "input": {
    "sampleCountsPerGram": [
      5,
      15,
      25
    ],
    "acceptableLimit": 10,
    "maximumLimit": 20,
    "maximumMarginalSamples": 1
  },
  "output": {
    "marginalSampleIndexes": [
      1
    ],
    "unacceptableSampleIndexes": [
      2
    ],
    "planSatisfied": false
  }
}

Limitations and assumptions

This applies the supplied plan rather than choosing food-specific current rules or establishing food safety. Sampling representativeness, organism identity and measurement method are not assessed.

Numeric inputs must be finite. Follow the calculation-specific rules for overflow, underflow and exceptional cases. Lists are limited to 100,000 entries; the rules above may require smaller limits. Missing required fields, extra fields, wrong value types and violations of the calculation rules are input errors. A successfully returned false flag is an evaluated outcome; its meaning is explained above.

Alternative or Complementary methods

Use Water Coliform Sample Compliance: Audit water-sample coliform observations against a supplied per-sample allowance, retaining tested volumes; nondetection is not guaranteed sterility. For a complementary task, use Countable Plate Selection: Select colony-count plates within caller-specified countability limits, retaining low and excessive counts separately.

References

Food Three Class Sampling Plan — tool.io

Similar or alternative tools

Water Coliform Sample Compliance
Audit water-sample coliform observations against a supplied per-sample allowance, retaining tested volumes; nondetection is not guaranteed sterility.
Countable Plate Selection
Select colony-count plates within caller-specified countability limits, retaining low and excessive counts separately.