COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 634/2006
of 25 April 2006
laying down the marketing standard applicable to headed cabbages and amending Regulation (EEC) No 1591/87
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)
Cabbages are among the products listed in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 for which standards are to be adopted. Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1591/87 of 5 June 1987 laying down quality standards for cabbages, Brussels sprouts, ribbed celery and spinach (2) has been amended several times. For reasons of clarity, the rules on headed cabbages should be separated from those on other products under Regulation (EEC) No 1591/87 and laid down in a separate 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-09 concerning marketing and quality control of headed cabbages recommended by the Working party on agricultural quality standards of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE).
(3)
Packages containing a mixture of types of headed cabbage are becoming more common on the market. Therefore the provision concerning marking of these packages need to be clarified.
(4)
Application of the new standard 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.
(5)
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.
(6)
Regulation (EEC) No 1591/87 should therefore be amended accordingly.
(7)
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
1. The marketing standard applicable to headed cabbages falling within CN code 0704 90 shall be as set out in the Annex.
2. The standard 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)
slight deterioration due to their development and their tendency to perish.
Article 2
Regulation (EEC) No 1591/87 is amended as follows:
1.
the title is replaced by the following:
2.
in the first paragraph of Article 1, the first indent is deleted.
3.
Annex I is deleted.
Article 3
This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 25 April 2006.