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General Marketing Standards

The requirements of the general marketing standard are set out in Part A of Annex 1 to Regulation (EC) No 1580/2007 (no longer in force). It sets out the minimum quality requirements and requires that products must be:

  • intact,
  • sound - products affected by rotting or deterioration such as to make them unfit for consumption are excluded,
  • clean, practically free of any visible foreign matter,
  • practically free from pests,
  • practically free from damage caused by pests affecting the flesh,
  • free of abnormal external moisture,
  • free of any foreign smell and/or taste.

The condition of the products must be such as to enable them:

  • to withstand transport and handling,
  • to arrive in satisfactory condition at the place of destination.

Minimum maturity requirements

The products must be sufficiently developed and display satisfactory ripeness.

The development and state of maturity of the products must be such as to enable them to continue their ripening process and to reach a satisfactory degree of ripeness.

Tolerance

A tolerance of 10 % by number or weight of product not satisfying the minimum quality requirements shall be permitted in each lot. This tolerance shall not however cover product affected by rotting or any other deterioration rendering it unfit for consumption. 

Origin of the produce

The full name of the country of origin must be indicated.