COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1168/1999
of 3 June 1999
laying down marketing standards for plums
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 of 28 October 1996 on the common organisation of the market in fruit and vegetables(1), as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 857/1999(2), and in particular Article 2(2) thereof,
(1) Whereas plums are among the products listed in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 for which standards must be adopted; whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1591/87 of 5 June 1987 laying down marketing standards for cabbages, Brussels sprouts, ribbed celery, spinach and plums(3), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 888/97(4), has been amended frequently and can no longer ensure legal clarity;
(2) Whereas, in the interests of clarity, the rules on plums should be separated from those on other products under Regulation (EEC) No 1591/87; whereas the rules in question should therefore be recast and Annex V to Regulation (EEC) No 1591/87 on plums deleted; whereas, to that end and in the interests of preserving transparency on the world market, account should be taken of the standard for plums recommended by the Working Party on Standardisation of Perishable Produce and Quality Development of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE);
(3) Whereas the result of applying these standards should be to remove products of unsatisfactory quality from the market, to bring production into line with consumer requirements, to facilitate trade relationships based on fair competition, and thereby to help make production more profitable;
(4) Whereas the standards are applicable at all stages of marketing; whereas carriage over a great distance, storage for a certain length of time and the various handling operations which the products undergo may bring about deterioration due to the biological development of the products or their perishability; whereas account should be taken of such deterioration when the standards are applied at marketing stages following dispatch; whereas, as products in the "Extra" class have to be particularly carefully sorted and packaged, only lack of freshness and turgidity is to be taken into account in their case;
(5) Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
The marketing standard for plums falling within CN code 0809 40 05 shall be as set out in the Annex.
This standard shall apply at all marketing stages, under the conditions laid down in Regulation (EC) No 2200/96.
However, at stages following dispatch, the products may show in relation to the provisions of the standard:
- a slight lack of freshness and turgidity,
- for products graded in classes other than the "Extra" class, slight deteriorations due to their development and their tendency to perish.
Article 2
Regulation (EEC) No 1591/87 is amended as follows:
1. In the title, the words "ribbed celery, spinach and plums" are replaced by "ribbed celery and spinach".
2. The fifth indent in the first subparagraph of Article 1 is deleted.
3. Annex V is deleted.
Article 3
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
It shall apply from 1 July 1999.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 3 June 1999.