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Brussels, Belgium
30 June 2009
European Union rules governing the size and shape of many
fruit and vegetables will cease to exist tomorrow when specific
marketing standards for 26 types of fruit and vegetables are
repealed. The Commission's initiative to get rid of these
standards is a major element in its ongoing efforts to
streamline and simplify EU rules and cut red tape. For 10 types
of fruit and vegetables, including apples, strawberries and
tomatoes, marketing standards will remain in place. But even for
these 10, Member States could for the first time allow shops to
sell products that don't respect the standards, as long as they
are labelled to distinguish them from 'extra', 'class I' and
'class II' fruit. In other words, the new rules will allow
national authorities to permit the sale of all fruit and
vegetables, regardless of their size and shape.
"July 1 st marks the return to our shelves of the curved
cucumber and the knobbly carrot," said Mariann Fischer Boel,
Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development. "More
seriously, this is a concrete example of our drive to cut
unnecessary red tape. We don't need to regulate this sort of
thing at EU level. It is far better to leave it to market
operators. The changes also mean that consumers will be able to
choose from the widest range of products possible. It makes no
sense to throw perfectly good products away, just because they
are the 'wrong' size and shape."
During negotiations in 2007 on the reform of the Common Market
Organisation for fruit and vegetables, the Commission committed
itself to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy by getting rid of a
number of marketing standards for fruit and vegetables.
Tomorrow's change means that these standards will be repealed
for 26 products: apricots, artichokes, asparagus, aubergines,
avocadoes, beans, Brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflowers,
cherries, courgettes, cucumbers, cultivated mushrooms, garlic,
hazelnuts in shell, headed cabbage, leeks, melons, onions, peas,
plums, ribbed celery, spinach, walnuts in shell, water melons,
and witloof/chicory.
Specific marketing standards will remain for 10 products which
account for 75 percent of the value of EU trade: apples, citrus
fruit, kiwi fruit, lettuces, peaches and nectarines, pears,
strawberries, sweet peppers, table grapes and tomatoes. However,
Member States may also exempt these from the standards if they
are sold in the shops with an appropriate label. In practical
terms, this means that an apple which does not meet the standard
may still be sold in the shop, as long as it is labelled
"product intended for processing" or equivalent wording. |
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