2001R1148 — EN — 13.12.2001 — 001.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COMMISSIONREGULATION(EC)No1148/2001
of12June2001
onchecksonconformitytothemarketingstandardsapplicabletofreshfruitandvegetables
(OJ L 156, 13.6.2001, p. 9)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Commission Regulation (EC) No 2379/2001 of 5 December 2001 L 321 15 6.12.2001
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COMMISSIONREGULATION(EC)No1148/2001
of12June2001
on checks on conformity to the marketing standards applicable to
freshfruitandvegetables
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 andvegetables(
1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 911/2001(2),
and in particular Article 10 thereof,
Whereas:
(1)Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2251/92 of 29 July 1992 on
quality inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables(3), as last amended
by Regulation (EC) No 766/97(4), must be amended in a number
of places to take account of the development of and improvedprofessionalism in the trade in fresh fruit and vegetables and ofchanges in the common organisation of the markets in this sector,
and in order to clarify a number of ambiguities in that Regulation.
In the interests of simplification and improved clarity, the rulesshould be completely recast and Regulation (EEC) No 2251/92should be repealed.
(2)The Member States must designate the inspection bodies who areresponsible for carrying out checks on conformity at each stage ofmarketing. Given the very diverse circumstances in the MemberStates, one or other of these bodies in each Member State shouldbe responsible for contacts and coordination between alldesignated bodies.
(3)Conformity checks should be carried out by sampling and shouldconcentrate on traders most likely to have goods which do notcomply with the standards. Depending on the characteristics oftheir national market, Member States must lay down rulesprioritising checks on particular categories of trader. To ensure
transparency, these rules should be notified to the Commission.
Since knowledge of traders and their main characteristics is anindispensable tool in Member States' analysis, it is essential to setup a database on traders in fresh fruit and vegetables in eachMember State, following the register drawn up according to
Regulation (EEC) No 2251/92.
(4)Exports of fruits and vegetables to third countries must conform
to the standards. Member States must ensure it is the case andcertify conformity, in accordance with the Geneva Protocol onstandardisation of fresh fruit and vegetables and dry and dried
fruit concluded within the United Nations Economical Commis-
sion for Europe and the OECD scheme for the application ofinternational standards for fruit and vegetables. Imports of freshfruit and vegetables from third countries must conform to themarketing standards or to standards at least equivalent to them.
Checks on conformity must therefore be carried out before these
goods enter Community customs territory, except in the case ofsmall lots which the inspection authorities consider to be low risk.In certain third countries which provide satisfactory guarantees ofconformity, checks may be carried out by the inspection bodies ofthese third countries. Where this option is applied, the Member
States are to verify regularly the validity of the checks carried out
by third country inspection bodies and inform the Commission ofthe results of these verifications.2001R1148 — EN — 13.12.2001 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ L 297, 21.11.1996, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 129, 11.5.2001, p. 3.
(3) OJ L 219, 4.8.1992, p. 9.
(4) OJ L 112, 29.4.1997, p. 10.
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(5)Products intended for processing are not required to conform to
these standards, so it must be ensured that they are not sold on the
market for fresh products. Such products should be suitablylabelled and, in certain cases, accompanied by a processingcertificate stating the end-use and allowing checks to be made.
(6)Fruit and vegetables checked for conformity to the marketingstandards should be subject to the same type of check at all stagesof marketing. The inspection guidelines recommended by theUnited Nations Economic Commission for Europe, themselves inline with the relevant OECD recommendations, should be adoptedto this end. Specific arrangements should however be laid down
for checks at the retail sale stage.
(7)The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance
with the opinion of the Committee for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Member States shall carry out checks at all stages of marketing on
conformity to the marketing standards laid down in Articles 7, 8 and 9 ofRegulation (EC) No 2200/96 in accordance with this Regulation.
Article 2
Competentbodies
1. Each Member State shall designate a single competent authority
responsible for coordination and contacts in the areas covered by thisRegulation, hereinafter called ‘the coordinating authority’.
2. The Member States shall communicate to the Commission:
— the name and postal and e-mail address of the coordinating authority
they have designated in application of paragraph 1,
— the name and postal and e-mail address of the inspection bodies they
appointed in application of the third subparagraph of Article 7 of
Regulation (EC) No 2200/96, hereinafter called ‘the inspectionbodies’, and
— an exact description of the respective spheres of activity of the
inspection bodies they appointed.
3. The coordinating authority may be the inspection body or one of
the inspection bodies or any other body designated according toparagraph 1.
4. The Commission shall publish the list of coordinating authorities
designated by the Member States in the C series of the Official Journal
of the European Communities .
Article 3
Traderdatabase
1. The Member States shall set up a database on traders in fruit and
vegetables, which shall list, under the conditions defined by the presentArticle, traders involved in marketing fresh fruit and vegetables for
which standards have been laid down in application of Article 2 of
Regulation (EC) No 2200/96.
By ‘trader’ is meant any natural or legal person holding fresh fruit and
vegetables subject to marketing standards with a view to their displayingor offering for sale, their sale or their marketing in any other manner foritself or on behalf of a third party in the Community's territory and/orexport to third countries.2001R1148 — EN — 13.12.2001 — 001.001 — 3
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Member States shall determine the conditions under which the following
traders are included or not in the database:
— traders whose activities are exempt from the obligation to comply
with the marketing standards pursuant to Article 3 of Regulation(EC) No 2200/96,
— natural or legal persons whose activities in the fruit and vegetables
sector are limited either to the transport of goods, or to the sale ofsmall quantities at the retail stage.
2. Where the database is composed of several distinct elements, the
coordinating authority shall ensure that the database, its elements and
their updating are uniform. The updating is done in particular by the
inspection bodies using the information collected during checks carriedout at all stages of marketing.
3. This database shall contain, for each trader, the registration
number, name, address, information needed for its classification in oneof the categories mentioned in Article 4 of this Regulation, in particular,position in the marketing chain, information concerning the importance
of the firm, information concerning findings made during previous
checks of each trader, as well as any other information considerednecessary for checks.
4. Traders must provide the information that the Member States
consider necessary to set up and update the database. Member Statesshall determine the conditions under which traders not established intheir territory but trading on it shall be listed in their database.
Article 4
Conformitychecksontheinternalmarket
1. The Member States shall introduce a system of sampling checks on
the conformity to marketing standards of products held by traders at all
stages of marketing.
Under this system, the Member States shall specify the frequency, based
on a risk analysis of a trader marketing goods not in conformity with themarketing standards, with which checks must be made by the inspectionbodies, which must be sufficient to ensure compliance with Communityrules, for each category of trader they have first defined. This risk
analysis will relate, in particular, to the size of the firms, their position in
the marketing chain, findings made during previous checks and otherpossible parameters to be defined by the Member States. Tradersinvolved in preparing and packaging fruit and vegetables, particularly inthe production region, shall be subject to a higher rate of checks thanother categories of trader. Checks may also occur during transport.
Where checks reveal significant irregularities, the inspection bodies
shall increase the frequency of checks on the traders concerned.
2. Traders must provide the inspection bodies with all information
those bodies judge necessary for organising and carrying out checks.
3. Member States may authorise traders at the stage of dispatch
guaranteeing uniform and high conformity rate of the fruit andvegetables subject to marketing standards they dispatch to use thespecimen in Annex 3 in the labelling of each package. The authorisationshall be granted for a period of three years and shall be renewable.
In addition, traders benefiting from this possibility must:
— have inspection staff who have received training approved by the
Member State,
— have suitable equipment for preparing and packing produce,— commit themselves to proceed to a conformity check of the goods
they dispatch and have a register recording all operations of checkscarried out.
When traders can no longer guarantee high and uniform conformity rate,
or when one of the above mentioned conditions is no longer fulfilled, theMember State shall withdraw the authorisation for the trader to use thespecimen in Annex III in the labelling of each package.2001R1148 — EN — 13.12.2001 — 001.001 — 4
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4. The coordinating authority shall communicate the provisions of the
inspection system as referred to in paragraph 1 to the Commissionbefore the application of this Regulation. This communication shall
include the different categories of traders that were identified and the
check frequency specified for each of them, as well as, whereappropriate, the detailed conditions of implementation of the provisionsof paragraph 3, the detailed conditions of implementation of theprovisions of Article 5(1), including the minimum proportions of checks
for the different traders concerned. It shall immediately inform the
Commission of any subsequent amendments to that system.
Article 5
Conformitychecksatthepointofexport
1. The competent inspection body at the stage of export shall ensure
by a conformity check that products intended for export to third
countries only leave the Community's customs territory if they conformto the marketing standards.
Exporters must provide the inspection bodies with all information those
bodies judge necessary for organising and carrying out checks.
For traders conforming to the conditions of application of the provisions
mentioned in Article 4(3), Member States may specify, for each
category of trader concerned and based on a risk analysis, the minimum
proportion of consignments and quantities subject to conformity checksby the competent inspection body at the export stage. This proportionmust be sufficient to ensure compliance with Community rules. Wherechecks reveal significant irregularities, the inspection bodies shall
increase the proportion of consignments checked on the traders
concerned.
2. The inspection body shall issue a certificate of conformity as set
out in Annex I for each lot intended for export and which they consider
to be in conformity with the marketing standards, after completion of the
checking operations mentioned in paragraph 1. Where the exportconsignment consists of several lots, the conformity of those lots may becertified on a single certificate which clearly lists the various lotsconstituting that consignment.
3. The export declaration may be accepted by the competent customs
authority only if:
— the goods are accompanied by either the certificate referred to in
paragraph 2 or the certificate referred to in Article 8(2), or if
— the competent inspection body informed the customs authority, by
appropriate means, that the relevant lots have been subject to theissue of one of those two certificates.
Article 6
Conformitychecksatthepointofimport
1. Before release for free circulation, products from third countries
shall be checked for conformity with the marketing standards.
Importers must provide the inspection bodies with all information those
bodies judge necessary to organising and carrying out the checks
mentioned in paragraph 2 of this Article and Article 7(5).
2. Notwithstanding Article 7, the official inspection body at the point
of import shall carry out a conformity check for each imported lot and,
where those products conform with the required standards, issue acertificate of conformity as set out in Annex I. Where the importconsignment consists of several lots, the conformity of those lots may becertified on a single certificate which clearly lists the various lotsconstituting that consignment.2001R1148 — EN — 13.12.2001 — 001.001 — 5
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3. The customs authorities shall authorise release for free circulation
only if:
— the goods are accompanied by the certificate referred to in paragraph
2, the certificate referred to in Article 7(3) or the certificate referredto in Article 8(2), or if
— the competent inspection body informed the customs authority, by
appropriate means, that the relevant lots have been subject to the
issuance of one of those certificates.
4. Notwithstanding paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, where the competent
inspection body at the point of import considers that there is a low riskof certain lots of a weight less than or equal to 500 kilograms notconforming to the marketing standards, they may choose not to check
those lots. They shall send the customs authority a stamped declaration
to this end or inform that authority in another manner that it may carryout clearance procedures.
Article 7
Approvalofcheckingoperationsperformedbythirdcountriesprior
toimportintotheCommunity
1. At the request of a third country, the Commission may approve, in
accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 46 of Regulation(EC) No 2200/96, conformity checking operations performed by thisthird country prior to import into the Community.
2. The approval referred to in paragraph 1 may be granted to third
countries which so request and on whose territory the Community
marketing standards, or standards at least equivalent, are met for
products exported to the Community.
The approval specifies the official authority in the third country under
the responsibility of which checking operations mentioned in paragraph1 are performed. This authority shall be responsible for contacts with the
Community. The approval also specifies the inspection bodies in charge
of the proper checks, hereinafter called ‘third country inspection bodies’.
The approval may only apply to products originating in the third country
concerned and may be limited to certain products.
For the purposes of the approval referred to in paragraph 1, the
Commission may use the special corps of inspectors in the fruit andvegetable sector set up under Article 40 of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96to make on-the-spot visits to check that the inspection operations carriedout in the third country concerned comply with the provisions of this
Article and, where appropriate, make recommendations for improving
the degree of conformity of goods exported to the Community by thatthird country.
3. The third country inspection bodies must be official bodies or
officially recognised by the authority mentioned in paragraph 2providing satisfactory guarantees and disposing of the necessarypersonnel, equipment and facilities to carry out checks according tothe methods mentioned in Article 9(1) or equivalent methods.
The third country inspection bodies shall draw up, for each lot checked
prior to its entry into Community customs territory, either the certificate
of conformity set out in Annex I, or any other form agreed between theCommission and the third country. Where the import consignmentconsists of several lots, the conformity of these lots may be certified on asingle certificate which clearly lists the various lots constituting that
consignment.
The standard forms on which the certificates provided for in the second
subparagraph of this paragraph are drawn up shall be established withinthe framework of the approval referred to in paragraph 1.2001R1148 — EN — 13.12.2001 — 001.001 — 6
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The certificate shall bear the word ‘original’. Where additional copies
are required, they should be stamped with the word ‘copy’. Thecompetent authorities in the Community shall accept as valid only the
original of the certificate.
The form shall measure 210 × 297 mm; a tolerance of up to plus 8 mm
or minus 5 mm in the length may be allowed. The paper used shall bewhite, not containing mechanical pulp, sized for writing and shall weighnot less than 40 g/m
2.
The forms shall be printed and completed in one of the official
languages of the Community.
The forms must be completed using a mechanographical or similar
process.
Entries must not be erased or overwritten. Any alterations shall be made
by crossing out the incorrect particulars and, where appropriate, adding
those required. Such changes shall be initialled by the person making
them and endorsed by the issuing authorities.
Each certificate shall bear a serial number, whether or not printed, by
which it can be identified, and shall be stamped by the issuing authorityand signed by the person or persons empowered to do so.
The issuing authority shall retain a copy of each certificate it issues.4. The Commission may suspend approval if it is found that, in a
significant number of lots and/or quantities, the goods do not correspondto the information in the certificates of conformity issued by the third
country inspection bodies, or where an unsatisfactory response has been
made to the requests for a posteriori checks as referred to in paragraph5a.
5. Member States shall conduct checks at the point of import on
products imported under the conditions set out in the present Article forconformity with the standards by carrying out conformity checks foreach third country concerned on a significant proportion of the
consignments and quantities imported under those conditions. This
proportion must be sufficient to ensure compliance with the Communityrules by the third country inspection bodies. Member States shall ensurethat the measures laid down in Article 9(3) are applied to the lotschecked, where those lots do not comply with the marketing standards.
Where checks reveal significant irregularities, Member States shall
immediately inform the Commission, and the inspection bodies shall
increase the proportion of consignments and quantities checked in
accordance with the provisions of this Article.
5a. Whenever doubts arise as to the authenticity of a certificate as
referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 3 or the accuracy ofthe information contained therein, an a posteriori check shall be carriedout.
The competent authority in the Community shall return the certificate or
its copy thereof to the official correspondent in the third country, as
referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 2, giving, where
appropriate, the reasons for the enquiry and any information obtainedsuggesting that the certificate is not authentic or that the details itcontains are incorrect. Requests for a posteriori checks shall be broughtto the attention of the Commission as quickly as possible, together with
the results of each request.
Where a request is made for an a posteriori check, the importer of the
products concerned may ask the competent inspection bodies to carryout a conformity check as referred to in Article 6.
6. The coordinating authority shall communicate to the Commission
each quarter, by the end of the quarter following that quarter at thelatest, for each third country and product concerned, the number of lotsand total quantities imported in accordance with paragraph 1, the2001R1148 — EN — 13.12.2001 — 001.001 — 7
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number of lots and the quantities which have been checked for
conformity as referred to in paragraph 5 and, of those lots, those whichthe inspection bodies found not to conform with the data mentioned in
the conformity certificates issued by the third country inspection body,
specifying the quantities for each of those lots and the type of defectsgiving rise to that finding.
7. The customs authorities shall provide the coordinating authority
and/or the inspection bodies with all information necessary for the
application of the provisions of the present Article.
8. The application of this Article shall be subject to the establishment
of a procedure for administrative cooperation between the Community
and each third country concerned.
To this end the third countries concerned shall send the Commission all
relevant information on checking operations, in particular specimens ofthe stamp imprints used by the inspection bodies and, where appropriate,and without delay, any change to this information.
The Commission shall notify this information, and any subsequent
amendments, to the coordinating authorities in the Member States whoshall inform the customs authorities and other competent authoritiesthereof.
Once administrative cooperation has been established, and following
any significant amendment of the information communicated by a third
country concerned both within the framework of this administrative
cooperation and as regards the names and addresses of the officialcorrespondent and of the inspection bodies, the Commission shallpublish a notice to this end in the Official Journal of the European
Communities (C series).
Article 8
Productsintendedforprocessing
1. For the purpose of the application of this Regulation, products
intended for processing are fresh fruit and vegetables subject to
marketing standards that are shipped to processing plants where they
are processed into products classified in a CN position different fromthat of the initial fresh product.
2. The competent inspection bodies shall issue processing certificates
as provided for in Annex II for products intended for export to third
countries and products imported into the Community where such
products are intended for processing and are, therefore, in accordancewith Article 3(3)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96, not subject toconformity with the marketing standards. They shall ensure that thespecial labelling provisions laid down paragraph 3 are complied with.
3. In the case of imports, after having issued any certificate referred
to in paragraph 2, the competent inspection body shall immediately send
to the coordinating authority of the Member State where processing is totake place a copy of the certificate and any forth information needed fora possible check of the processing operations. After processing, theprocessing enterprise shall return the certificate to the competent
inspection body, which shall ensure that the products have actually been
processed.
4. The packaging of products intended for processing must be clearly
marked by the pack with the words ‘intended for processing’ or otherequivalent wording. In the case of goods shipped in bulk, directly loadedonto a means of transport, this indication shall be given in a document
accompanying the goods or shown on a notice placed in an obvious
position inside the means of transport.
5. Members States shall take all the measures they judge necessary,
in particular those related to cooperation with the other Member Statesconcerned, to avoid any goods intended for the fresh market being2001R1148 — EN — 13.12.2001 — 001.001 — 8
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shipped outside the region of production as goods intended for
processing.
Article 9
Methodofinspection
1. The conformity checks provided for in this Regulation, with the
exception of those at the point of retail sale to the end consumer, shall becarried out, save as otherwise provided under this Regulation, inaccordance with the methods in Annex IV.
The Member States shall lay down specific arrangements for checking
conformity at the point of retail sale to the end consumer.
2. Where inspectors find that the goods conform with the marketing
standards, the inspection body may issue a certificate of conformity asset out in Annex I. This certificate shall in any event be issued at thepoint of import or export.
3. Where the goods do not conform with the standards, the inspection
body shall issue a finding of non-conformity for the attention of the
trader or their representatives. Goods for which a finding of non-conformity has been issued may not be moved without the authorisationof the inspection body which issued that finding. This authorisation canbe subject to the respect of conditions laid down by the inspection body.
Traders may decide to bring all or some of the goods into conformity.
Goods brought into conformity may not be marketed before the
competent inspection body has ensured by all appropriate means that thegoods have actually been brought into conformity. It shall issue, whereapplicable, a certificate of conformity as set out in Annex I for the lot orpart thereof only once the goods have been brought into conformity.
Article 10
Finalprovisions
1. The inspection bodies of a Member State on whose territory a lot
of goods from another Member State is found not to conform with thestandards because of defects or deterioration which could have beendetected at the time of packaging shall immediately notify such cases ofnon-conformity discovered up to the wholesale marketing stage,
including at distribution centres, to the authorities of the other Member
States likely to be concerned.
2. Where, on import from a third country, a lot of goods are found not
to conform with the standards, the coordinating authority of the MemberState concerned shall immediately notify the Commission and thecoordinating authorities of the other Member States likely to be
concerned, which shall then pass on this information as necessary in
their territory. The Commission shall be notified via the electronicsystem indicated by the Commission.
3. For the purposes of applying this Regulation, in the case of
products for which marketing standards have been adopted, invoices andaccompanying documents must indicate the quality class, the country of
origin of the products and, where appropriate, the fact that it is intended
for processing. This requirement shall not apply to retail sale to the endconsumer.
Article 11
1. Regulation (EEC) No 2251/92 is hereby repealed.2. Traders exempted from inspection of goods at the time of
consignment under Article 6 of Regulation (EEC) No 2251/92 may
use the packaging affixed with the label provided for in Annex III to thatRegulation until 31 December 2002.
3. Inspection certificates issued according to Article 3(9) of
Regulation (EEC) No 2251/92 are valid until the date of validity inbox 12 of the concerned certificates expires. Processing certificates2001R1148 — EN — 13.12.2001 — 001.001 — 9
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issued according to Article 10 of Regulation (EEC) No 2251/92 are valid
until 31 January 2002.
Article 12
This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
It shall apply from 1 January 2002.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in
all Member States.2001R1148 — EN — 13.12.2001 — 001.001 — 10
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ANNEXI
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ANNEXII
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ANNEXIII
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ANNEXIV
METHODSOFINSPECTIONMENTIONEDINARTICLE9(1)
Note:The following methods of inspection are based on the provisions of the
guide for the implementation of quality control of fresh fruit and
vegetables adopted by the UN/ECE (United Nations Economic Commis-
sion for Europe) Working Party for standardisation of perishable goods and
improvement of quality.
1.Definitions
(a)Conformity check
Inspection carried out to check the conformity of fruit and vegetables with
the marketing standards provided by Regulation (EC) No 2200/96.
(b)Inspector
Person authorised by the competent inspection body who has an
appropriate and regular training enabling them to undertake conformity
inspection.
(c)Consignment
Quantity of produce to be sold by a given trader found at the time of
control and defined by a document. The consignment may consist of one
or several types of produce: it may contain one or several lots of fresh fruit
and vegetables.
(d)Lot
Quantity of produce which, at the time of control at one place, has similar
characteristics with regard to:
— packer and/or dispatcher,
— country of origin,
— nature of produce,
— class of produce,— size (if the produce is graded according to size),— variety or commercial type (according to the relevant provisions of the
standard),
— type of packaging and presentation.
However, if during the inspection of consignments, it is not possible to
distinguish between different lots and/or presentation of individual lots is
not possible, all lots of a specific consignment may be treated as one lot if
they are similar in regard to type of produce, dispatcher, country of origin,
class and variety or commercial type, if this is provided for in the
standard.
(e)Sampling
Collective sample taken temporarily from a lot during conformity check
inspection.
(f)Primary sample
Package taken from the lot, or, in the case of bulk produce, a quantity
taken from a point in the lot.
(g)Bulk sample
Several representative primary samples taken from the lot whose quantity
is sufficient to allow the assessment of the lot with regard to all criteria.
(h)Reduced samples
Representative quantity of produce taken from the bulk sample whose size
is sufficient to allow the assessment of certain individual criteria. Several
reduced samples may be taken from a bulk sample.2001R1148 — EN — 13.12.2001 — 001.001 — 14
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2.Implementationofconformitycheck
(a)General remark
A conformity check shall take place by assessing bulk samples taken at
random from different points in the lot to be controlled. It is based on the
principle of presumption that the lot conforms to the bulk sample.
(b)Presentation of produce
The inspector decides which packages are to be controlled. The
presentation shall be made by the person authorised to do so or his
representative. The procedure should include the presentation of a bulk
sample as well as the supply of all information necessary for the
identification of the consignments or lots.
If reduced samples are required, these are identified by the inspector
himself from the bulk sample.
(c)Identification of lots and/or getting general impression of the consigne-
ment
The identification of lots shall be carried out on the basis of their marking
or other criteria, such as the indications laid down under Council Directive
89/396/EEC(1). For consignments which are made up of several lots it is
necessary for the inspector to get a general impression of the consignment
with the aid of accompanying documents or declarations concerning the
consignments. He then determines how far the lots presented comply with
the information in these documents.
If the produce is to be, or has been loaded onto a means of transport, the
registration number of the latter shall be used for identification of the
consignment.
(d)Verification of the lot
— assessment of packaging and presentation on the basis of primary
samples:
the packaging, including the material used within the package, shall be
tested for suitability and cleanness according to the provisions of the
marketing standards. If only certain types of packaging are permitted,
the inspector checks whether these are being used. If the individual
standard includes provisions concerning presentation, their conformity
is also checked,
— verification of marking on the basis of primary samples:
first, it is ascertained whether the produce is marked according to the
marketing standards. During control a check is made on the accuracy
of marking and/or the extent of amendment required,
— verification of conformity of the produce:
the inspector shall determine the size of the bulk sample in such way
as to be able to assess the lots. He shall at random select the packages
to be inspected or in the case of bulk produce the points of the lot from
which individual samples shall be taken.
Damaged packages shall not be used as part of the bulk sample. They
should be set aside and may, if necessary, be subject to a separate
examination and report.
The bulk sample should comprise the following quantities whenever a
consignment is declared unsatisfactory:
Packed produce
Number of packages in the lotNumber of packages to be taken
(primary samples)
Up to 100 5
From 101 to 300 7From 301 to 500 9
From 501 to 1 000 10
More than 1 000 15 (minimum)2001R1148 — EN — 13.12.2001 — 001.001 — 15
(1) OJ L 186, 30.6.1989, p. 21.
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Bulk produce
Quantity of lot in kg or number of
bundles in the lotQuantity of primary samples in kg or
number of bundles
Up to 200 10
From 201 to 500 20From 501 to 1 000 30
From 1 001 to 5 000 60
More than 5 000 100 (minimum)
In the case of bulky fruit and vegetables (over 2 kg per unit), the primary
samples should be made up of at least five units.
If the inspector discovers, after an inspection, that a decision cannot be
reached, he may carry out another inspection and express the overall result
as an average of the two checks.
Certain criteria such as the presence or the absence of internal defects may
be checked on the basis of reduced samples; this applies in particular to
control which destroys the trade value of the produce. The size of the
reduced sample shall be restricted to the minimum quantity absolutely
necessary for the assessment of the lot; if, however, defects are ascertained
or suspected the size of the reduced sample shall not exceed 10 % of the
size of the bulk sample initially taken for the inspection.
(e)Control of produce
The produce has to be removed entirely from its packaging for the control;
the inspector may only dispense with this, if the type of packaging and
form of presentation allow an inspection without unpacking the produce.
The inspection of uniformity, minimum requirements, quality classes and
size shall be carried out on the basis of the bulk sample. When defects are
detected, the inspector shall ascertain the respective percentage of the
produce not in conformity with the standard by number or weight.
(f)Report of control results
Documents mentioned in Article 9(2) and (3) are issued where
appropriate.
If defects are found, the trader or his representative must be informed of
the reasons of complaint. If the compliance of produce with the standard is
possible by a change in marking, the trader or his representative must be
informed of it.
If defects are found in a product, the percentage found not to be in
conformity with the standard shall be indicated. This is not necessary if it
is possible to achieve compliance of produce with the standard by a
change in the marking of the product.
(g)Decline in value by conformity check
After the control, the bulk sample is put at the disposal of the trader or his
representative.
The inspection body is not bound to hand back the elements of the bulk
sample destroyed during the control.
When the conformity check has been limited to the minimum required, no
compensation can be claimed from the inspection body concerned if the
commercial value of the produce has suffered a loss.2001R1148 — EN — 13.12.2001 — 001.001 — 16