Bruxelles, Belgium
November 21, 2008
Rules governing the size and shape
of fruit and vegetables will be consigned to history after
European Union Member States today voted on Commission proposals
to repeal specific marketing standards for 26 types of fruit and
vegetables.
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. |
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