27 Dec 2007 - Ref 59/07
EC Marketing Standards and EC Regulation 1182/2007
No change will take place to marketing requirements or marketing standards drawn up under Council Regulation 2200/96 and 1148/01 after 1 January 2008.
Amendments to the implementation of marketing regulations for fruit and vegetables and the marketing standards, which are included in Council Regulation 1182/2007, effective from 1 January 2008, have been delayed until further notice to allow further discussion.
Notes
1. Council Regulation 1182/2007 covers reform of the whole of the common market organisation in fruit and vegetables. The section on marketing standards (Article 2) has been heavily revised and includes the requirement to indicate the country of origin on all fruit and vegetables and to ensure all produce is of “sound, fair and of marketable quality”. Discussions regarding what constitutes “sound, fair and marketable” are still ongoing within the Commission.
2. Horticultural Marketing Inspections is part of the Rural Payments Agency (RPA). The Inspectorate is responsible for the enforcement of the EC Marketing Standards for fresh fruit, vegetables, salad crops, nuts, cultivated mushroom, flowers and bulbs throughout England and Wales, wherever fresh produce is grown, imported, exported, bought or sold.
3. RPA is an Executive Agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), providing a range of key services in support of the department’s objectives, including making rural payments, carrying out rural inspections, and livestock tracing.
4. Media only contact: Ciaran Baker, RPA press office, 0118 9 687 680
Page published: 27 December 2007