In Regulation (EC) No. 2003/2003 [2] tolerance limits are mentioned for nutrient contents in mineral fertilizers (Annex II of Regulation (EC) No. 2003/2003) as well as prescribed methods for control purposes (Annex IV of Regulation (EC) No. 2003/2003).

Prior to the work done by CEN/TC 260 following Mandate M/335, no statistical data were available for the official analytical methods to be applied. Due to the standardization work done for this mandate, statistical data have been generated as ring testing was a major topic in this mandate.

This Technical Specification describes to what extent the presently applied tolerances are in line with the obtained precision data from the analytical methods studied.

The purpose of this document is to give feedback on the applied tolerances within Regulation (EC) No. 2003/2003 based on the method evaluation done as an outcome of the work executed by CEN/TC 260/WG 7 according to Mandate M/335. This evaluation of the tolerances was PART of Mandate M/418.