1988R1677 — EN — 01.07.1997 — 001.001 — 1
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►B COMMISSION REGULATION (EEC) No 1677/88
of 15 June 1988
laying down quality standards for cucumbers
(OJ L 150, 16.6.1988, p. 21)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Commission Regulation (EC) No 888/97 of 16 May 1997 L126 11 17.5.1997
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COMMISSION REGULATION (EEC) No 1677/88
of 15 June 1988
laying down quality standards for cucumbers
THE COMMISSIONOF THE EUROPEANCOMMUN ITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1035/72 of 18 May
1972 on the common organization of the market in fruit and veget-ables(
1), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1117/88(2), and in
particular Article 2 (3) thereof,
WhereasCouncilRegulationNo183/64/EEC(3)laysdownqualitystan-
dards for cucumbers;
Whereas a change has occurred in the production and marketing of
thoseproducts,particularlyasregardstherequirementsofconsumerandwholesale markets; whereas the common quality standards for cucum-bers should therefore be changed to take those new requirements intoaccount;
Whereas such changes entail alteration of the definition of the supple-
mentary quality class as laid down by Council Regulation (EEC) No1194/69(
4)aslastamendedbyRegulation(EEC)No79/88(5);whereas
accountshouldbetaken,indefiningthatclass,oftheeconomicimpor-tance to producers of the products concerned and of the need to meetconsumer requirements;
Whereasthestandardsareapplicableatallstagesofmarketing;whereas
transportationoveralongdistance,storageforacertainlengthoftimeorthevarioushandlingoperationsmaybringaboutdeteriorationduetothe biological development of the products or their tendency to perish;whereas,therefore,accountshouldbetakenofsuchdeteriorationwhenapplying the standards of marketing stages following dispatch;
Whereasintheinterestsofclarityandcertaintyastolegalrequirements
andforeaseofusethestandardsthuschangedshouldbeconsolidatedina single text;
WhereasthemeasuresprovidedforinthisRegulationareinaccordance
with the opinion of the Management Committee for Fruit and Veget-ables,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
The quality standards for cucumbers, falling within subheading
07070011 and 07070019 of the combined nomenclature shall be asset out in the Annex hereto.
Thosestandardsshallapplyatallmarketingstages,undertheconditions
laid down in Regulation (EEC) No 1035/72.
However, at stages following dispatch the products may show, in rela-
tion to the standards prescribed a slight lack of freshness and turges-cenceandslightalterationduetotheirbiologicaldevelopmentandtheirtendency to perish.
(1) OJ No L 118, 20. 5. 1972, p. 1.
(2) OJ No L 107, 28. 4. 1988, p. 1.
(3) OJ No 192, 25. 11. 1964, p. 3217/64.
(4) OJ No L 157, 28. 6. 1969, p. 1.
(5) OJ No L 10, 14. 1. 1988, p. 8.
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Article 2
Regulation No 183/64/EEC is hereby amended as follows:
— the second indent of Article 1 (2) is deleted,— Annex I/2 is deleted.
Article 3
Regulation (EEC) No 1194/69 is hereby amended as follows:
— in Article 1, the words ‘and cucumbers'are deleted,— Annex VII is deleted.
Article 4
This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 1989.
ThisRegulationshallbebindinginitsentiretyanddirectlyapplicablein
all Member States.
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ANNEX
QUALITY STANDARDS FOR CUCUMBERS
I. DEFINITION OF PRODUCE
This standard applies to cucumbers grown from varieties (cultivars)of
Cucumis sativus L . to be supplied fresh to the consumer, cucumbers for
processing and gherkins being excluded.
II. PROVISIONS CONCERNING QUALITY
Thepurposeofthestandardistodefinethequalityrequirementsforcucum-
bers after preparation and packaging.
A.Minimum requirements
In all classes, subject to the special provisions for each class and the
tolerances allowed, cucumbers must be:
— intact,— sound;produceaffectedbyrottingordeteriorationsuchastomakeit
unfit for consumption is excluded,
— fresh in appearance,— firm,— clean, practically free of any visible foreign matter,— practically free from pests,— practically free from damage caused by pests,— free of bitter taste (subject to the special provisions for class II
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— free of abnormal external moisture,— free of foreign smell and/or taste.
Cucumbers must be sufficiently developed but their seeds must be soft.The condition of the produce must be such as to enable it:
— to withstand transport and handling, and— to arrive in satisfactory condition at the place of destination.
B.Classification
Cucumbers are classed into the three classes defined below:
(i) ‘Extra' class
Cucumbersinthisclassmustbeofsuperiorquality.Theymusthave
all the characteristics of the variety.
They must:
— be well developed— be well shaped and practically straight (maximum height of the
arc: 10 mm per 10 cm of length of the cucumber)
— have a typical colouring for the variety— be free of defects, including all deformations and particularly
those caused by seed formation.
(ii) Class I
Cucumbers in this class must be of good quality. They must:
— be reasonably developed— be reasonably well shaped and practically straight (maximum
heightofthearc:10mmper10cmofthelengthofcucumber).
The following defects are allowed:
— a slight deformation, but excluding that caused by seed forma-
tion
— aslightdefectincolouring,especiallythelightcolouredpartof
the cucumber where it touched the ground during growth
— slight skin blemishes due to rubbing and handling or low
temperatures, provided that such blemishes have healed and donot affect the keeping quality.
(iii) Class II:
Thisclassincludescucumberswhichdonotqualifyforinclusionin
the higher classes but satisfy the minimum requirements specifiedabove. However, they may have the following defects:
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— deformations other than serious seed development,
— defectsincolouringuptoone-thirdofthesurface;inthecaseof
cucumbers grown under protection,
considerable defects in colouring in the affected part are not
allowed,
— healed cracks,— slight damage caused by rubbing and handling which does not
seriously affect the keeping quality and appearance.
All the defects listed above are allowed for straight and slightly
crooked cucumbers.
Ontheotherhand,crookedcucumbersareallowedonlyiftheyhave
no more than slight defects in colouring and have no defects ordeformation other than crookedness.
Slightlycrookedcucumbersmayhaveamaximumheightofthearc
of 20 mm per 10 cm of length of the cucumber.
Crooked cucumbers may have a greater arc and must be packed
separately.
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III.PROVISIONS CONCERNING SIZING
Sizing is determined by the weight of the cucumber.
(i) Cucumbers grown in the open must weigh 180 g or more. Cucumbers
grown under protection must weigh 250 g or more.
(ii) Moreover,‘Extra'ClassandClassIcucumbersgrownunderprotection
weighing:
— 500 g or more must be not less than 30 cm long,— between 250 and 500 g must be not less than 25 cm long.
(iii) Sizing is compulsory for classes ‘Extra'and I.
Thedifferenceinweightbetweentheheaviestandlightestcucumbersin
the same package must not exceed:
— 100 grams where the lightest piece weighs between 180 and 400
grams,
— 150 grams where the lightest piece weighs 400 grams or more.
(iv) The provisions concerning sizing are not applicable to ‘short cucum-
bers'.
IV.PROVISIONS CONCERNING TOLERANCES
Tolerances in respect of quality and size are allowed in each package for
produce not satisfying the requirements for the class indicated.
A.Quality tolerances:
(i) ‘Extra' Class:
5%bynumberofcucumbersnotsatisfyingtherequirementsforthe
class but meeting the requirements for Class I, or exceptionallycoming within the tolerances for that class.
(ii) Class I:
10 % by number of cucumbers not satisfying the requirements for
theclassbutmeetingtherequirementsforClassII,orexceptionallycoming within the tolerances for that class.
(iii) Class II:
10 % by number of cucumbers satisfying neither the requirements
for the class nor the minimum requirements, to the exclusion ofproduceaffectedbyrottingordeteriorationsuchastomakeitunfitfor consumption. Within this tolerance a maximum o f2%b y
number of cucumbers may have tips with a bitter taste.
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B.Size tolerances:
For all classes: 10 % by number of cucumbers not satisfying the size
requirements. However, this tolerance is applicable to produce whichdiffersbynotmorethan10%fromthesizeandweightlimitsspecified.
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V. PROVISIONS CONCERNING PRESENTATION
A.Uniformity:
Thecontentsofeachpackagemustbeuniformandcontainonlycucum-
bersofthesameorigin,varietyortype,qualityandsize(whererequired).►
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The visible part of each package must be representative of the entire
contents.
B.Packaging:
Thecucumbersmustbepackedinsuchawayastoprotectthemproperly.
The cucumbers must be packed sufficiently tightly as to avoide damage
during transport.
Thematerialsusedinsidethepackagemustbenew,cleanandofaquality
suchastoavoidcausinganyexternalorinternaldamagetotheproduce.The use of materials and particularly of paper or stamps bearing tradespecifications is allowed provided that the printing or labelling has beendone with a non-toxic ink or glue.
The packages must be free of any foreign matter.
VI.PROVISIONS CONCERNING MARKING
Each package must bear the following particulars in letters grouped on the
same side, legibly and indelibly marked and visible from the outside:
A.Identification:
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Packer and/or Dispatcher: Name and address or officially issued oracceptedcodemark.However,inthecasewhereacodemarkisused,thereference ‘packer and/or dispatcher (or equivalent abbreviations)'has tobe indicated in close connection with the code mark.
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B.Nature of produce:
— ‘Cucumbers'if the contents are not visible from the outside,
— ‘under protection', where appropriate, or an equivalent expression,— ‘short cucumbers'or ‘mini-cucumbers',as appropriate.
C.Origin of produce:
Country of origin and, optionally, district where grown, or national,
regional or local trade name.
D.Commercial specifications:
— Class and, as appropriate, for Class II ►
M1 ◄,
‘crooked cucumbers',
— Size (if the produce is sized) expressed in minimum and maximum
weight of the cucumbers,
— Number of units (optional).
E.Official crate marking (optional)