COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1861/2004
of 28 October 2004
laying down the marketing standard applicable to peaches and nectarines
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), and in particular Article 2(2) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
Peaches and nectarines are among the products listed in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 for which standards must be adopted. Commission Regulation (EC) No 2335/1999 of 3 November 1999 laying down marketing standards for peaches and nectarines (2), has been amended several times. For the sake of clarity, Regulation (EC) No 2335/1999 should therefore be repealed and replaced, as from 1 March 2005, by a new Regulation.
(2)
To that end, and in the interest of preserving transparency on the world market, account should be taken of the UN/ECE standard FFV-26 concerning marketing and quality control of peaches and nectarines recommended by the Working Party on agricultural Quality Standards of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE), as well as of his recommendation introducing minimum maturity criteria applicable to peaches and nectarines.
(3)
Application of the new standards should remove products of unsatisfactory quality from the market, bring production into line with consumer requirements and facilitate trade based on fair competition, thereby helping to improve profitability.
(4)
The standards are applicable at all marketing stages. Long-distance transport, storage over a certain period and the various processes the products undergo may cause some degree of deterioration owing to the biological development of the products or their perishable nature. Account should be taken of such deterioration when applying the standard at the marketing stages following dispatch.
(5)
As products in the ‘Extra’ class have to be particularly carefully sorted and packaged, only lack of freshness and turgidity should be taken into account in their case.
(6)
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 applicable to peaches and nectarines falling within CN code 0809 30 shall be as set out in the Annex.
The standards shall apply to all marketing stages under the conditions laid down in Regulation (EC) No 2200/96.
However, at stages following dispatch, products may show, in relation to the requirements of the standard:
(a)
a slight lack of freshness and turgidity;
(b)
for products graded in classes other than the ‘Extra’ class, slight deteriorations due to their development and their tendency to perish.
Article 2
Regulation (EC) No 2335/1999 is repealed.
Article 3
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply as from 1 March 2005.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 26 October 2004.