Brussels, 06/07/2009 (Agence Europe) - The new regulation abolishing 26 marketing standards for fruit and vegetables came into force on 1 July (see EUROPE 9932). According to COPA-COGECA Secretary general Pekka Pesonen, “European marketing standards for fruit and vegetables guaranteed market transparency and gave operators a common voice in determining uniform parameters for fruit and vegetables”. In addition, the standards meant that fruit and vegetables imported into the European Union complied with the same quality rules as European production, he said.
With the new regulation's removal of 26 standards, private initiatives to draw up new marketing standards will be developed in the 27 member states, “running counter to the aims of the single market”, the agricultural organisations regret. COPA (Committee of Professional Agricultural Organisations) and COGECA (General Confederation of Agricultural Cooperatives) draw attention to the fact that 19 member states were opposed to these changes to the fruit and vegetables legislation. (L.C./transl.rt)