A distributable sampling and sensing instrument for chemical analysis of consumable foods and other agricultural products. The distributable sampling system is used to separate and concentrate the chemicals of interest obtained from samples at remote locations via thermal desorption onto a detachable target substrate that can be analyzed on-site or off-site. The volatile components adsorbed onto the target substrate can be analyzed with specific sensors (e.g., electrochemical sensors) or the assembly can be sent to a central lab and analyzed with conventional chemical instrumentation (e.g., GC-MS). This instrument provides the capability to enable chemical analysis of a wide range of chemical species of interest in a wide range of environments and conditions.