Growers - Packers
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 the marketing standards, with which checks must be made by the inspection bodies, which must be sufficient to ensure compliance with Community rules, 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 other possible parameters to be defined by the Member States. Traders involved in preparing and packaging fruit and vegetables, particularly in the production region, shall be subject to a higher rate of checks than other 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.
- Traders must provide the inspection bodies with all information those bodies judge necessary for organising and carrying out checks.
- Member States may authorise traders at the stage of dispatch guaranteeing uniform and high conformity rate of the fruit and vegetables subject to marketing standards they dispatch to use the specimen from Annex 3 in the labelling of each package. The authorisation shall 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 checks carried out.
- When traders can no longer guarantee high and uniform conformity rate, or when one of the above mentioned conditions is no longer fulfilled, the Member State shall withdraw the authorisation for the trader to use the specimen from Annex II in the labelling of each package.
- The coordinating authority shall communicate the provisions of the inspection system as referred to in paragraph 1 to the Commission before 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, where appropriate, the detailed conditions of implementation of the provisions of paragraph 3, the detailed conditions of implementation of the provisions 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.
Page published: 11 June 2013