US Patent 11680873 Sampling apparatus and method

Sampling of food products and/or surfaces can be efficiently carried out by providing an apparatus comprising a bag construction incorporating a sample collection material secured to an inside surface of the bag. The bag is of a size large enough to permit inversion of the bag to expose the sample collection material for collection of samples from surfaces, followed by re-inversion to enclose the sample collection material. Methods for sampling food products and/or surfaces for detection of pathogens, microbial contaminants and/or constituents in products or on surfaces are additionally contemplated.