1 Purpose
This document establishes formal requirements for Product Entry, Sample Submission, and Sample Control within the defined Good Taste Awards standards system.
2 Scope
This document applies to the requirements, decisions, records, controls, and outputs expressly identified under Product Entry, Sample Submission, and Sample Control. Award scope and exclusions are defined by GTA-STD-100; this document shall not create an additional award dimension. Operational prerequisites identified here affect assessment validity and never constitute product certification.
3 Authority and interpretation
The Assessment Operations Lead owns GTA-STD-300; the Standards Authority approves it. formal verbs, defined terms, stable requirement identities, policy constants, and generated representations shall be interpreted under GTA-GOV-002, GTA-GOV-005, and the defined registers.
3.1 Registered relationships
| Relationship | Direction | Related document |
|---|---|---|
implements | inbound | GTA-SCH-301 |
implements | inbound | GTA-SCH-302 |
implements | inbound | GTA-SCH-303 |
implements | inbound | GTA-OPS-102 |
implements | inbound | GTA-OPS-103 |
governed_by | outbound | GTA-GOV-001 |
drafted_under | outbound | GTA-GOV-002 |
4 Requirements
GTA-STD-300-R001 — Entrant identity
The Assessment Operations Lead shall establish the confirmed organization and contact without exposing identity to assessors.
GTA-STD-300-R002 — Assessed-product definition
The Assessment Operations Lead shall bound the exact formulation, flavour, variant, format, and preparation state.
GTA-STD-300-R003 — Eligibility
The Assessment Operations Lead shall accept only products that can be represented, prepared, served, and assessed under defined conditions.
GTA-STD-300-R004 — Category assignment
The Assessment Operations Lead shall select the applicable category module before quantity and preparation are authorized.
GTA-STD-300-R005 — Quantity calculation
The Assessment Operations Lead shall calculate cumulative portions, preparation loss, control portion, operational reserve, and unit rounding.
GTA-STD-300-R006 — Shipment instruction
The Assessment Operations Lead shall specify units, condition, packaging, temperature, protection, identification, and prohibited promotional material.
GTA-STD-300-R007 — Receipt reconciliation
The Assessment Operations Lead shall record delivered units, condition, discrepancy, usability, and acceptance disposition.
GTA-STD-300-R008 — Chain of custody
The Assessment Operations Lead shall link every unit, movement, opening, preparation, service, reserve use, and disposition.
GTA-STD-300-R009 — Storage
The Assessment Operations Lead shall protect required condition, segregation, restricted identity, and stock accuracy.
GTA-STD-300-R010 — Sample representativeness
The Assessment Operations Lead shall prevent special selection, substitution, inconsistent units, and result-informed replacement.
GTA-STD-300-R011 — Shortage and damage
The Assessment Operations Lead shall hold the route, request confirmed additional supply, replace affected units, or refuse the entry without creating a lower award ceiling.
GTA-STD-300-R012 — Residual disposition
The Assessment Operations Lead shall control retention, return, donation, or disposal without unconfirmed tasting or disclosure.
5 Sample control states
| State | Meaning | Permitted next action |
|---|---|---|
| instructed | individual product shipment requirements issued | dispatch or factual correction |
| received | package logged before relocation or opening | inspection |
| held | identity, quantity, condition, or evidence unresolved | verify, replace, accept, or refuse |
| accepted | required units and conditions verified | blind coding and defined storage |
| partially accepted | only identified conforming units accepted | replacement or quantity-plan review |
| advancement reserve | sealed supply assigned to a possible higher stage | release only after progression authorization |
| staged supply pending | higher-stage supply requested under an approved equivalence plan | receive and verify before use |
| refused | valid assessment cannot proceed | close entry or accept a new submission object |
6 Batch equivalence and custody
Evidence from staged shipments may be combined only where product version, formulation, declared process, format, preparation instruction, and relevant batch characteristics are equivalent. A difference capable of changing the sensory experience shall create a new product or reassessment state.
Chain-of-custody records shall account for every accepted unit from receipt through storage, opening, preparation, service, reserve release, retention, and disposition. Identity-bearing materials shall remain unavailable to assessors and to any role prohibited by the separation matrix.
7 Conformity and records
Conformity with Product Entry, Sample Submission, and Sample Control requires evidence comprising the source evidence, defined decision, accountable role, and independent or automated verification. The record for each applicable GTA-STD-300 requirement shall permit reconstruction without relying on an unrecorded explanation.
Evidence created under GTA-STD-300 shall use stable identifiers, immutable event sequence numbers, and machine event timestamps. A correction shall be append-only. A nonconformity shall place the affected object in a non-releasable state until its consequence and confirmed disposition are recorded. Role combination remains subject to the mandatory separation rules.