Commission Regulation (EC) No 851/2000
of 27 April 2000
laying down the marketing standard for apricots
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 Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999(2), and in particular Article 2(2) and Article 3(3) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Apricots are among the products listed in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 for which standards must be adopted. Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1108/91 laying down quality standards for apricots(3), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 888/97(4), has been amended frequently and can no longer ensure legal clarity.
(2) Regulation (EEC) No 1108/91 should be repealed and the rules it contains redefined. To that end and in the interests of preserving transparency on the world market, account should be taken of the standard for apricots recommended by the Working Party on Standardisation of Perishable Produce and Quality Development of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE).
(3) Applying these standards should result in products of unsatisfactory quality being removed from the market, bringing production into line with consumer requirements and facilitating trade relationships based on fair competition, thereby helping improve the profitability of production.
(4) The standards apply to all marketing stages. Long-distance transport, storage over a certain period and the various processes which the products undergo may cause certain alterations owing to the biological development of the products or to their relatively persishable nature. Account should be taken of such deterioration when applying the standards at the marketing stages which follow dispatch. Since products in the "Extra" class must be sorted and packaged with particular care, only lack of freshness and turgidity is to be taken into account in their case.
(5) Article 3(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 allows for an exemption from the quality standards where the fruit or vegetables of a given region are sold by the retail trade of the region for well-established traditional consumption. Certain varieties of apricots, produced in Germany in the Süßer See region, are characterised by a smaller size than that required by the marketing standards. Those apricots are traditionally marketed in the production region and are the subject of Regulation (EC) No 1010/98 of 14 May 1998 allowing Germany an exemption from the quality standards for apricots(5). For clarification and simplification of the Community rules, this exemption shall be included in the present Regulation, and Regulation (EC) No 1010/98 shall be repealed.
(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 relating to apricots falling within CN code 0809 10 00 shall be as indicated in the Annex hereto.
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
1. As an exemption from the Annex to the present Regulation, the minimum size of apricots produced in the Süßer See region may be 5 mm smaller than the minimum size given by the marketing standard. However, such apricots may only be marketed in Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony.
2. For the purposes of applying paragraph 1 of the present Article, each consignment must carry, in addition to the other required information, the following indication on the document or notice as referred to in Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96: "Nur in Sachsen-Anhalt und Sachsen im Einzelhandel zu verkaufen".
Article 3
Regulations (EEC) No 1108/91 and (EC) No 1010/98 are repealed.
Article 4
This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
It shall apply from the first day of the month following its entry into force.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 27 April 2000.