International Meeting 2007

Proceedings

26. Interntional Meeting Quality Control Fruit & Vegetables

05th March – 07th March 2007

Inhalt

4 Welcome

Dr. R. Kloos

7 Marketing standards within the framework of the reform of the market organization for fruit and vegetables

Dr. Bernd Mönning

10 Quality Control in the Single Market – at the Example of Hungary

István Ecsedi and Lajos Nemeth

16 Export Inspection in Israel – Added Value to the Industry

Ran Ben-David

19 Explanation of the marketing standard for asparagus

Lutz Böhme

22 Reasons for inward and outward quality defects in asparagus

Prof. Dr. Peter- Jürgen Paschold

26 Asparagus - modern cultivation techniques in different asparagus–growing countries throughout the world

Joachim Ziegler

28 Proof of origin by means of stable isotope technique and the asparagus database

Dr Claus Schlicht

30 Withdrawal of the Regulation on Legal Commercial Classes for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables in Germany

Johannes Graf

32 Discussion Forum on the “Standard Interpretation and Quality Control”

Team: Istvan Ecsedi, Franz Egerer, Heinrich Stevens

42 Marketing standard for citrus fruit

Hans-Georg Levin

45 Export control of citrus fruit from Morocco

Dr. Zine El Alami

52 Citrus Production and Exports in South Africa – A Quality Management Perspective

Cyril Julius

62 Degreening of citrus fruit – a blessing or a curse for quality

Dr Ulrike Bickelmann

66 Draft proposal to amend the provisions on sampling – in case of non-conformity

Heinrich Stevens

72 Genetic identification of fruit varieties – a service for practice

Dr Haibo Xuan

76 Quality promotion in apple cultivation

Kerstin Funke

80 Impressum

Welcome Dr. R. Kloos President, Federal Office of Agriculture and Food

Ladies and Gentlemen, national Meeting comes to bear as its core element consists in connecting public and pri- welcome to the 26th International Meeting on vate inspection services with representatives Quality Control of Fruit and Vegetables. of industry and trade. 60 public and 8 private inspection services, 50 companies and one It is indeed a pleasure to see how many of you centre for consumer protection are gathered have once again accepted the invitation of in this hall. Ministry representatives partici- the Federal Office of Agriculture and Food. I pate in the discussion along with members of may thus welcome 236 representatives from the executive power, i.e. heads of inspection 26 countries here today, including partici- services and their staff as well as people who pants from 20 EU member states and the EC cater to consumer needs. The meeting thus Commission. I extend my particular welcome reaches across hierarchies, marketing levels to the delegates of Bulgaria who represent and national borders. the new EU members this year. We are also very pleased, of course, to welcome our That, ladies and gentlemen, provides us with guests from Switzerland, Turkey, Israel, Mo- a good basis to fight and stand for rules for rocco, South Africa and the USA who remind production and for the preservation of mar- us to keep our eyes open and look beyond ket transparency! EU borders, beyond Europe’s nose. We are especially pleased to see international orga- Where other agricultural or horticultural nisations represented here as the UNECE and products are concerned, similar forums for OECD are precisely the committees where information exchange and interpretative the basis for our marketing standards and the rules coordination can rarely be found. In respective explanatory brochures are worked food control, a similar initiative is in the ma- out. king, based on the EC Commission’s rules and regulations and supported by institutions All of you have come to Bonn to discuss created for that particular purpose. matters regarding marketing standards and control. You will contribute your various In the area of marketing standards and experiences from very differently structured quality control of fruit and vegetables there exporting or importing countries. You will are various committees which elaborate, and talk to each other about what it means to subsequently publish, harmonised interpre- produce, market and control in a northern tations. In recent years electronic media have or a southern country. And it is this exchange made their sudden entry and publications of which paves the way that leads to mutual these committees are increasingly available. trust and understanding. The OECD’s explanatory brochures will conti- We have gathered here because we want to nue to be available in their easy to use lose- avoid trade barriers. Because instead we want leaf format with excellent colour prints, but to assure that the control result an inspector recently their electronic versions have also arrives at in one country, e.g. at export level, become accessible, free of charge. In addition is accepted at the import level in another. Pro- to the official English and French versions ducers, traders and inspectors – people with the first brochures are now also available in quite a variety of intentions, that is – should, German translation. by means of agreed standards and their uniform interpretation, be able to arrive at In Germany, there is a committee similar to comparable results when they assess produce the OECD-Scheme for the application of inter- in different parts of the world. national standards for fruit and vegetables: the task force group Quality Control of Fruit, Success in that field requires both a lively ex- Vegetables and Ware potatoes, which com- change of information and open interaction. bines all inspection services on federal and This is where the long tradition of the Inter- national levels. This group will soon publish a

© BLE, IAT- 2007 5 Welcome new product: an electronic catalogue show- In this context we shall also have to discuss ing defects and damage patterns. how we should deal with false information regarding origin, data which indicate a correct You shall have the opportunity to see and test production region but do not respect political publications in the foyer during the breaks, borders and which, by fraudulent representa- ladies and gentlemen. tion, try to achieve better prices or to outsell competitors. Now, our meeting offers a new chance to discuss current problems and to find solutions On the last day of the meeting various aspects which will subsequently be published and of control practice shall be highlighted. A shall be accessible for everyone. new practice-oriented approach towards sampling shall be presented. This approach The subjects treated this year seem to be out- intends to more strongly consider the fact dated. 12 years ago, citrus fruit were already a that products today are often offered in sales focal theme of our meeting, then still held in packages. Geisenheim. Then, too, the interpretation of The respective paper intends to start off a pro- the marketing standard was on the agenda, ject in which several countries participate to along with quality production and the identi- elaborate a suggestion which is to be submit- fication and assessment of defects. ted to standardisation committees and to the lawmaking EC Commission. Questions regarding these matters have become more modern, of course. Today, given The next paper shall present the latest achie- the fact that trade is eager to innovative, vements in terms of variety diagnostics for standard simplification is an issue because fruit because in that field a number of things standards should become more flexible and have happened since our last meeting. Two should at the same time stress internal fruit papers presented towards the end of the quality. meeting shall deal with colour as a quality cri- The fact that production conditions and pos- terion and shall illustrate that colour develop- sibilities have changed significantly during ment in fruit is not just a matter of beauty and the past ten years will be illustrated by our outward appearance but is indeed closely lecturers from Morocco and South Africa, and connected with internal fruit quality. those who know the market will be able to add their own observations to that effect. Today, at the start of our meeting, marketing standards as an instrument for market trans- While ten years ago the technique of de- parency and, implicitly, as an instrument for greening was an issue, today it is questioned consumer protection shall be the issue. Both whether de-greening is indeed a suitable roles can only become effective in combinati- instrument to highlight fruit quality. on with a certain extent of governmental control. The lecturers from Hungary and Israel 15 years ago, ladies and gentlemen, the shall soon tell us how this extent of control is interesting topic of asparagus was on the practically applied in various countries. agenda as well. Then, we dealt with varieties and aspects of quality production. Now we This year, Dr. Mönning of the Ministry for will take a look at production areas across the Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection globe, we shall talk about new varieties and shall lead the round dance of lecturers. Dear their advantages and about factors which Dr. Mönning, we do very much appreciate have an either adverse or positive effect on that despite the extra effort required by quality. Proving the origin of asparagus will the European presidency you have found also be an important subject. the time to tackle the subject of marketing standards and to present to us and discuss the Today, isotope technology is available to that approaches towards a reform of the Common effect. Comparable data are needed and we Market Organisation. shall hear how far joint efforts have come in terms of establishing a respective data base. Following this presentation, you, ladies and gentlemen, are welcome to contribute your

Finally, please allow me to express my gratitu- de to the lecturers who contribute significantly to the success of this meeting. They have come here from all parts of the world, willing to include this meeting in their tight agendas.

My heartfelt thanks to you.

Marketing standards within the framework of the reform of the market organization for fruit and vegetables Dr. Bernd Mönning

Reform proposal analysis and other measures for establishing the characteristics of the standards in questi- After more than a decade of successfully ap- on, in order to prevent abuse with respect to plying the common market organization for quality and authenticity of produce offered fruit and vegetables the European Commis- to consumers and thus hopefully to guard sion has submitted a proposal for reform and against the involved disturbances of market further development of this body of rules. conditions.

The proposals are to increase competitive- Article 2 of the proposal provides the Com- ness in fruit and vegetable production and to mission with far-reaching authorisations for bring about a stronger market orientation; implementing provisions: they are to reduce income fluctuations in crisis situations, to increase consumption and „Article 2 – marketing standards“ improve protection of the environment, to simplify rules - wherever possible – and to cut (1) The Commission can make provisions for red tape. marketing standards for one or several products as laid down in paragraph 2 of article 1 Among other things, the reform aims at: of regulation (EC) no. 2200/96 and paragraph 2 of article 1 of regulation (EC) no. 2201/96. providing stronger incentives for farmers to join producers’ organizations (2) The standards as laid down in paragraph 1

- providing enhanced instruments for pro- a) are determined by taking the specific cha- ducers’ organizations with regard to crisis racteristics of the products in question into management particular account; this equally applies to cre- ating the market conditions required for the - laying down minimum conditions for envi- marketing of the products to run smoothly ronmental measures and to the interest of consumers in appropriate and transparent product information, - increasing EU funds for ecological production and sales promotion b) can concern in particular classification as to quality and weight, sizing packaging, - abolishing export refunds wrapping, storage, transport, and presentation and labelling. - the decoupling of processing subsidies. (3) Where the Commission has not provided Proposal on marketing standards otherwise in accordance with the criteria pursuant to paragraph 2 a), produce for which Notwithstanding hitherto existing rules, the marketing standards have been established Commission suggests, with regard to mar- must, within the Community, be marketed keting standards for fruit and vegetables, to solely in compliance with these standards. replace provisions for these standards by a condensed text. Notwithstanding the specific provisions that the Commission might adopt pursuant to Explanatory statement: This is particularly to article 38, the Member States shall investigate ensure that the Commission has sufficient fle- whether the products comply with these stan- xibility and can exercise sufficient powers in dards and, if appropriate, shall apply admini- order to simplify matters where this is appro- strative sanctions.“ priate and possible. Moreover, this is to create the possibility for the Commission to be able Single CMO to take special measures if required, in particular with a view to up-to-date methods of A very similar text is contained in the Com-

© BLE, IAT- 2007 8 Marketing standards within the framework of the reform of the market organization for fruit and vegetables mission proposal for a single common market tion for commercial levels, inspections by the organization, which is presently also under Member States and – from the point of view of discussion in European panels. Later on, this Germany and a number of other countries – regulation shall apply to almost all agricul- the inclusion of table potatoes into the system tural produce as a sort of „roof regulation“. of marketing standards. Once it has been reformed, the fruit and vegetable market organization will also be The Commission was requested to rethink its brought into line with the single CMO. proposal against the background of the dis- cussions that have taken place and to submit As a consequence of this, in future practically a new text proposal. the whole legal framework for marketing standards will fall within the competence Position of the des Federal Ministry for of the Commission. As the latter has far-rea- Consumer Protection, Food and Agricul- ching legislative powers the Member States ture/ of the Federal Government will, in comparison, be far less able to wield an influence on legal instruments than they According to the opinion of the Federal Go- have been able to do with the present state of vernment, a simple and flexible framework legal affairs. standard, similar to the annex of EU regulation No. 48/2003 (regulation on mixes of diffe- Discussion within the Council working rent types in the same sales package) provides group a perfect solution for a cross-product marketing standard. The essential elements of An extensive exchange of views on the pro- this framework standard should encompass posal of the Commission on the marketing the minimum requirements and marking standards for fruit and vegetables has taken requirements (product, (where appropriate) place. In this context particular attention has variety and country of origin). been paid to the question of the importance and necessity of standards for production, This framework standard should apply to trade and for consumers. The majority of all produce subject to the CMO for fruit and Member States considers a common system of vegetables. If required, additional individual standards a necessity, not in the least in order regulations for the most important products to ensure market and price transparency in the market could then be added to this and thus comparability of produce. A majo- framework standard. rity considers a simplification of standards necessary, also for the reason of simplifying In our opinion, ware potatoes (CN-Codes 0701 administrative procedures and in order to cut 9050 and 0701 9090) also figure among the red tape. This applies on the one hand to the most important products in terms of mar- scope of application with regard to the list of keting. Including these into a framework products and the application at commercial marketing standard is therefore considered levels, and on the other hand to the imple- essential in order to achieve uniform marke- mentation of inspections. With respect to ting standards throughout Europe. A stan- these issues, many delegations consider the dard of this type will also be acceptable at an Commission proposal insufficient. international level as it is almost identical with the UN/ECE Geneva Protocol. If need A request was made as to clarification of the be, economic operators could, at private law period of validity of the system presently in level, draw upon detailed product standards force. as established by the UN/ECE or Codex-Ali- mentarius. A multitude of Member States considers transferring standardization under the Agreement on international standardization exclusive authority of the Commission as too recommendations is considered essential. A far-reaching. They endorse establishing a reference to these should also remain ancho- basic guiding principle for the future stan- red to the reformed CMO. On an international dardization system in the Council regulation. level however, the present situation is unsa- This applies in particular to issues concerning tisfactory as two international organizations the framework standard, the scope of applica- (UN/ECE and Codex Alimentarius) are each

© BLE, IAT- 2007 9 Marketing standards within the framework of the reform of the market organization for fruit and vegetables working out standard recommendations for the same products. Seeking harmonisation therefore seems highly advisable.

Further action

At council working group level, discussion of the Commission proposal with a view to marketing standards has been completed and will now be dealt with at a political level. It is envisaged to reach a conclusion by June 2007, while Germany still chairs the European Uni- on. Issuing the implementing rules resulting from this will certainly take up the second half of 2007, or probably even longer.

Standards as currently in force will remain in force until they will have been replaced by new ones.

Quality Control in the Single Market – at the Example of Hungary István Ecsedi and Lajos Nemeth

Difficulties of establishing an inspection plicated. Of course this might seem to be service an ordinary question for us people in this profession but we have to demonstrate In the beginning we had two main problems: this complexity also outside this group to as quality is a complex term and its interpre- make people understand this profession. tation could be very different. Quality in a wider aspect is much more then just commer- • Unequal production of the regions: In cial quality. The fruit and vegetables sector is each country most of the growing regions among the most complicated professions. So have developed traditionally. In order to we started to develop the inspection keeping have enough staff for each such region this in view. this had to be taken into consideration. There might be a region where one Quality the great integrator. There are a lot of inspector is enough and then there might things that have great influence on all aspects be another where we need five of them. I of the final quality of the produce, e.g. use of only tell you this because this way of thin- varieties, growing technology, plant protec- king was unusual in the official admini- tion, fertilization, storage, marketing, post stration system. harvest technology or even food safety. All the efforts done from farm to the table serves • Very different volume of deliveries of one goal to satisfy the consumer with quality operators: This is the problem of a big or produce. small dispatcher. In the beginning there Of course the inspector has to be familiar in were many trying to trade F&V and of all these fields, because is not enough to mark course there was, there is a concentration e.g red apple as it is done by some supermar- process not speaking about the influence ket chains. Of course they not necessarily of the great supermarket chains. have to be specialists but to have good communication with specialists from the fields • Huge possible difference between the mentioned. So as a conclusion I would say subsequent years: One of the major pro- quality and all his components are very com- blems in agriculture is the uncertainty plex and it’s not easy to organize an inspec- of growing, here I refer for instance to tion based on these starting points. damage due to early frost, draught, hail etc. Of course there are artificial practices Furthermore another question was which to influence these things but 100% safety features of the F&V sector to take into consi- never can be reached. And this has an deration and how to take into consideration impact on the volume of the marketed their importance. These factors are rather product available and indirectly on quali- general but they show the difficulty of esta- ty. Less produce together with big market blishing a well working inspection system, by demand may cause not only higher prices this I mostly mean the good organization and but also lower quality. continuous balance between the workload and staff. • Seasonality: From an inspection point of view there are major differences between • First of all which part of the plant do we produces available only for a short term use: there are plants we eat the root and period or produces available all through then there are others we eat the leaf, the the year not speaking about getting skill blossom or the fruit etc. Many differences in inspection of a product. requiring certain knowledge of growing or storing technology or even just some • Possibility in EU enlargement: It is a con- knowledge of preparing them home. tinuously growing family. This influences Children of the next generation will think the volume of inspected products. With that diced carrots are grown like that. the accession of the 10 new countries they Now this makes things even more com- became members of the common mar-

ket from one moment to the other and inspection in case of consignments to EU this meant also a decrease in number of member states as the EU was our main com- inspected lots. mercial partner. The inspection has been established in the frame of the animal health • Similar needs of the non-EU members: and food control administration mostly by Certificate may also be required by other involving food inspectors. The work of these countries like lately by Russia who refers inspectors has been improved with the help to UN/ECE standards. of several trainings given by different countries like Germany, Italy or Austria and also by • Expanding list of products subject to translation and publication of several guides standards: EC-Regulation 2200/96 annex and brochures on the quality issue. These I: in the last few years standards have guides were also very important because this been published for melons, water melons, kind of inspection was not widely known and cultivated mushrooms, walnuts in shell at the same time atomization of the Hungari- and hazelnuts in shell which also have an an economy has just begun. impact on the volume of goods inspected. 1996 First attempt of answering EU questi- • Financial possibilities: This is always the onnaires asked by the European Commissi- bottleneck. on. This was a very great help because these questions focused not only on the legal back- • Influence of all these parameters on the ground but also on the practical operation feasibility: It’s very difficult to adjust capa- and guarantees of a well working inspection city to all these changing factors in a cost system. effective or even cost saving way. 2000 Introducing compulsory import and History of the Hungarian inspection domestic inspections as a part of the step by step concept to prepare for the EU member- These were the factors we have assessed in ship. This was possible because of some finan- the beginning of the 1990s when a clear EU cial support has been decided together with orientation demanded establishment of an an increase in staff. Of course all these steps I inspection system for fruit and vegetables have mentioned also mean the adjustment of and we started to build this up. We had a few the legal framework. examples before us like Austria and Germa- ny therefore our basic concept was from the 2001 Submitting data on inspection re- beginning a step by step development. Now quired by the European Commission. This some of the most important events: attempt could be regarded as the follow-up of the first attempt started in 1996. As we were 1993 First attempt for application for reco- already trained regarding questions and as a gnition by the EU. Before the political change result at the end of that year finally a positive in Hungary there was no official inspection decision has been born, i.e. the (first ever) system in place for F&V. Of course there were approval of the Hungarian inspection service a few people busy with this topic but they by the EU. We think that was a great accom- were working for the only state trade com- plishment not only for the inspection system pany as internal inspectors mainly to fulfil but also for the operators in this branch. criteria set by their market including EEC. Looking back it was an advantage to start 2003 Compulsory export inspection to all development from tabula rasa but on the destinations. This has been done in line with other hand it was difficult to get people with the step by step concept in the beginning some skill in this field. They were mainly from export was inspected only for deliveries going the mentioned state company. Right from the to EC and afterwards to all destinations. With start issuing of certificates based on inspec- this last step we fully harmonized the natio- tion has been a practice just to refer to the nal legislation with the European legislation. practice excepted in case of countries lately approved. 2005 Reorganization of the inspection service into the institutional frame of the plant 1994 Introducing the compulsory export protection. This has caused losses for us but

© BLE, IAT- 2007 12 Quality Control in the Single Market – at the Example of Hungary also advantages or profits as you will see later And finally supervision of the inspection is on. This reorganization is mainly part of a ra- done by the ministry. tionalization process. It is very likely that this was only the first step in a long story but we Regarding staff: we have 5 people working hope that according to our commitment we for the co-ordination centre. Before the will be able to reinforce the system. Therefore reorganization we were 10. That was because we are ready in the future to present further the different structure. Previously in the food changes. This reorganization also required control administration the co-ordination was the modification of a set of rules. done by one of the inspection services (as also mentioned in 1148/2001 EC) but in the plant 2007 Another restructuring process has protection administration this co-ordinating taken place from 1st of January 2007. All the body is above the other services. Professional- authorities involved in agricultural admini- ly we think that the former system had some stration have been concentrated in one Office advantages because co-ordination was closer named the Agricultural Office. to the problems of the practical inspecting It has a Central Office and 19 county offices. work and quick supervision controls were ea- It involves among others veterinary, food sier to organize. In the reorganization process inspection, plant and soil protection, plant unfortunately we also had a capacity loss of health, forestry and of course fruit and ve- 30 % in terms of inspectors. getables inspection. In a lucky way we were But at the same time we had opportunity able to maintain our position and the co-ordi- to train all together 130 people potentially nation is still one department in the Central working as quality inspectors including 44 Office. people on border inspection points. Of course this is going to be a longer process until we Present situation choose out the best colleagues for our purpose and we find out the optimum number The fruit and vegetables inspection was ear- of inspectors. During training of inspectors lier stated only on decree level. we prepared guides and one of them we find In the framework of reorganization it had interesting for this group as well. to be introduced in the food law, in plant protection law and also in a governmental Legislation decree about the sharing of tasks between the different food inspecting services. Thanks to In order to ease work of inspectors we prepa- this operation, the service is now ruled on a red this chart enlisting all the community and higher level. national legislation on the common market This wording might sound complicated but regulation bound closely or in some other there is far more beyond because the aim was aspects. On this chart we grouped legislati- to maintain the professional independence of ons in bigger units. The first group on the left the inspection and on the other hand to make hand side is regulation 2200/96 and all the advantage in financial terms and to perform legislation bound closely to it. Just a few to joint tasks like sampling for heavy metal resi- mention: rules of PO’s, export refund, inter- due or quality inspection in intervention. vention. The second big group is 1148/2001 EC and the marketing standards. With blue The task is supervision on a higher level (mini- we grouped together the approved third stry level) of inspection and its co-ordination. countries. And the third big group is national In the reorganization we were able to fit to legislation. It also shows relation to processed the new system even if it was organization fruit and vegetables marked in grey. wise not completely similar. This chart is useful not only for inspection Why were we able to fit to this new system? purposes but also as a flier for the operators Because sharing of tasks was similar. in this field having a short explanation on the The first level is the inspection level that takes other side. place at the 19 county services. The work of these services is coordinated by the central In Hungary authorization for ruling inspec- office and as a part of that work of inspectors tion of fruit and vegetables inspection is gran- is organised by the Co-ordination Centre. ted by the food law. The national legislation is

© BLE, IAT- 2007 13 Quality Control in the Single Market – at the Example of Hungary based on decree 82/2004 FVM on inspection Tasks of the Coordination Centre of fruit and vegetables. This decree defines operation of the Fruit and Vegetables Inspec- • the Head of the Co-ordination Centre tion Service in order to fulfil requirements set reconsiders the appeals against the first by Community legislation and focuses on one level decisions; side on the institutional background declaring the three levels in the inspection menti- • provides help of technical and IT develop- oned earlier. It also establishes the inspection ments; service in the frame of the plant protection service and lists the tasks of the coordination • works out and announces the official centre. forms used in the course of the inspection;

• Performance of inspection: The Fruit and • works out and operates GIS evaluation of Vegetables Quality Inspection Service monitoring systems; performs its inspections at the grower, • follows the changes of international stan- processor at import and export stage, dards and informs the supervision and on the internal market of the EU or in prepares for the international meetings domestic trade within the same condi- and programs; tions and proceeding practice. The same proceeding practice is important because • organizes training courses for the inspec- we have to give global answers to global tors; trade not only within one country but also within Europe or even on a larger scale. • establishes and maintains direct connec- tions with foreign inspection authorities • Qualification of inspectors: Inspection in respect of regular exchange of infor- is carried out by the fruit and vegetables mation (notification of non-conformity) inspector working as public servant for regarding the inspections; the Service with special qualification and expertise, taking regular further training, • records foreign complaints and obser- holding valid official licence for the in- vations of non-conformity and takes the spection of fruit and vegetables. necessary actions resulting from them;

• Definition of the objects of the inspection • makes proposal for the frequency of ex- as well as co-ordination and control of port inspections; activities of the inspectors to ensure the uniform execution of the tasks. Within • evaluates the findings of inspections re- the frame of this the head of the Co-or- garding the import lots and certificates; dination Centre is entitled to take direct measures towards the inspectors working • makes suggestions regarding the assign- at the services. ment of places of inspection;

• Consignments to and from MS are in- • processes and evaluates findings and spected. In accordance with article 4 of data yielded by inspections and prepares Regulation 1148/2001 the conformity annual reports on its experiences; checks on the internal market must be sufficient to ensure compliance with This decree also determines the rights and community standards. In Hungary we as- obligations of the operators regarding quali- sessed risk at such a level that all consign- ty issues. ments have to be checked but in case of a great number of conformities decreasing Figures percentage of inspections. With regard to some figures of the last years, • Domestic inspection: There is possibility it is obvious that there was a constant incre- to ask for inspection on domestic market, ase in the number of inspections mainly due but of course in this case a fee also has to to the very good performance of our expor- be paid. ters also taken into consideration the enlar-

© BLE, IAT- 2007 14 Quality Control in the Single Market – at the Example of Hungary gement of the produce list like melons and on in the marketing chain, S2 evaluation of mushrooms which are very important export the last inspection event, S3 bonus on last products for Hungary. inspection, S4 Evaluation based on marketed But in 2004 after the accession there was a volume, S5 evaluation on area covered, S6 steep decrease in the number of inspections evaluation on quality assurance system. Each mainly due to the fact that most of the pro- factor used in the risk assessment may take a ducts go to other member states. Beside this value from 0 to 4, zero being the highest risk there was a general view from the part of the and four the lowest. traders that after accession inspection is not needed especially referring to free movement Frequency of inspection is calculated based of goods. This is true but only for goods ma- on the value of the Risk factor whereas S is nufactured according to the law. It is very dif- safety. ficult to handle such great changes between The risk factor is calculated using the follow- the years. With regard to staff we also think ing formula: about joint tasks to be more cost effective. But R = 100 – (0.13 x S1 x S2 x S3 x (S4 + S5 + S6)). this kind of combination of tasks also bears For each risk value of course there is a fre- dangers. Finally you loose your inspector. quency of inspection from every three month to every 18 month. Between the summer of 2004 and the summer of 2005 there was a great decrease in The database is running on ACCESS base. Let’s number of inspections. The fruit and ve- see just two of the functions of this applica- getables board put a great pressure on us tion. First it records the export and import regarding the import and domestic market inspection and issues the certificates. Second inspection. Therefore in 2005 with the reor- it is operating the risk analysis by giving as a ganization there was opportunity to inspect result the list of traders to be inspected in the products entering the territory of the EC. future. From 2004 to 2006 the number of inspections – especially at import stage – has been increa- Fees and fines sed. In 2006, 7.527 lots have been inspected at export stage, 39.488 at import stage and 3.736 We talked about rules, figures and operation at the domestic market. We had 2 court cases and know let’s talk about money. Fees are in 2006 but we had 7 in 2005 and fortunately applicable at: we won all of them which was very important • Export inspection (including issuance of because inspection seems to be accepted by the conformity certificate) the operators as well. • Import inspection (including issuance of We have to admit that however we started the conformity certificate) preparation – now I mean the whole sector – in time for the accession we can’t say we were • In domestic inspection in case of non- fully prepared. Most people thought that we conformity would maintain at least position on domestic market. But reality shows another picture. • In domestic inspection done on request (it PO’s still had things to catch up with to be is allowed by the national legislation) more competitive and on the other hand Hungarian consumers are very much price • Fines are determined by the food law and sensitive. may be imposed in case of marketed non -conform products. It may be imposed in Risk analysis three cases:

Regarding the database of traders: • If the product due to food safety problem In a few words I would like to explain the way threatens the health of the consumer it operates. First of all the evaluation of the risk. Regarding the 6 safety factors we split • If the product due to quality problems them into. Three of them being main factors harms the interest of the consumer and three of them are with less importance but still taken into consideration: S1 positi- • If the product due to its mislabelling

harms the rights of the consumers to be regulation and fruit and vegetables are not properly informed always clear or clear enough. In addition to this, the structural organization differs from How we consider fruits and vegetables from a country to country. There are some rules legal point of view? Of course they are traded applicable and some things specially ruled. products and they have to fulfil criteria for Fruit and vegetables sector is mainly vertical- instance on commerce. Then they are food ly regulated in spite of the food regulation products and have to comply with general which is mainly horizontally. food safety and labelling criteria: Then going further they are food products of plant origin A national market doesn’t exist because it is and have to comply with phytosanitary rules. part of the common market. There is no com- And then finally they are fruit and vegetables pulsory control on transports between the covered by common market rules and have to member states. There is of course possibility comply with standards. They may be marke- to inspect during transport (which demands ted fresh or processed. So we go from general time and staff). Wholesale markets loose their rules to very special rules. importance. Contradiction between products covered by standard and products not cove- Simplification red by the standard. Are national standards with all the administrative problems of notifi- Simplification I. As the reform of the Com- cations solving the problem? mon Market Organization takes place this year we have a few ideas on this: More but Regarding fees. Some member states do simple rules. This has been set as goal in 1996 apply fees whereas others don’t. It can be the already in the preamble of the 2200/96. We starting point for a lot of problems. Operators think that this goal has to be continued. By of course would like to save money therefore involving more products into standardisation they do inspect the consignment in countries the consumer protective role of the standards where fees are not applicable. For instance in may increase. It happens quite often that some other fields like control of food and feed products not covered by standards may be stuffs there is a common position in the reg. marketed in not satisfactory quality and we 882/2004 as a minimum fee or in the 2000/29 have no legal instrument for taking measures directive on ‘phytosanitary measures’ a (at least not on the base of the special rules). standard fee is applicable. Are the inspection Strengthening the uniform application of systems prepared for the challenges of globa- Community rules may have a positive impact lized commerce? Do we use all the technical on the market: fair competition, stability of facilities available today (e.g. flow of informa- prices, and equal inspection pressure would tion)? clarify the market. Watching all the discussion not only in this Simplification II. Strengthening uniform ap- forum but also on international level we see plication of Community rules. Furthermore that the main problem is that inspection equal inspection pressure would facilitate tra- services are organized in a very different way de and at the same time provide more effec- and this causes a lot of specialties in each MS tive protection of consumers’ interest which are some times very hard to understand or to bring to a common interest or de- Future thoughts cision. Therefore we came to the conclusion that the most important condition of a well We see some problems in the proper func- working control system would be: tioning of the common market regulation at least in terms of quality inspection. A control system is able to work under any cir- cumstances belonging to any institution but In some terms free movement of goods is very the most important condition of well working often misinterpreted. As free movement of is: a professionally independent inspection goods is only true when the product is pro- body controlled on common level. For this reduced and marketed according to the law ason as a first step we prepared a survey sheet (European or national). and if you agree we may circulate it to get a Connection points between general food better picture of the different structures.

Export Inspection in Israel – Added Value to the Industry Ran Ben-David

The export inspection in Israel • Implementing two-tier system inspection. The purpose is to asses the efficiency of Legislation: the front line inspection. With reference The Israeli inspection service deals with both to these inspection results, the quality activities, phytosanitary and quality inspec- inspector’s performance is improved. tion. The legislation basis of the inspection service in Israel is the Plants and Plants Pro- • Phytosanitary inspection in accordance to ducts for Export Law from 1954. This law deals international and bilateral agreements. with the quality aspects only. An exporter of The phytosanitary inspections are being fresh produce must introduce its produce for done at the same time and by the same inspection. This law deals with Israeli quality inspector. The phytosanitary inspection standards and doesn’t mention any other can be done as field inspection during the international standards. Moreover, the Plants active growth or as pre-shipment consi- Protection Law from 1956 deals with the gnment inspection. phytosanitary aspects only. Exporters of fresh produce must introduce their consignments • Providing inspection service with added for phytosanitary inspection. This phytosani- value to the industry. Usually the service tary inspection is based on importing coun- provided is in accordance to the growers’ tries requirements, bilateral agreements and or exporters’ requirements. This additio- the Israeli’s requirements. nal service is asked thanks to the professional experience, skills and knowledge, In addition, Israel National Quality Standards which are highly appreciated by the have been established. Their purpose is to re- industry. flect the Israeli producers’ needs, and to create and maintain high quality of our produce • Cold treatments sterilization. The most at the international markets. These national common post harvest quarantine treat- standards also include quality standards for ment is the cold treatment sterilization fresh produce like Persimmon, fresh herbs, for eradication of fruit fly and other pests. Pomegranates, etc. exported from Israel and Export produce to some of the countries where international quality standards do have to be treated this way, e.g. the export not exist. In Israel in addition to the national of citrus fruit to Japan, Australia, South quality standards, the inspection service does Korea and USA. work in accordance to international quality standards, like those from UNECE, OECD, EU • Sampling produce for chemical residues. etc. About 1,000 samples per year are sampled in the field at the pre harvest stage Activities of the Plant Inspection Service in in order to analyze and test for chemical Israel: residues at the fresh produce for the local and the export markets. • Quality inspection for the export and the local markets. This inspection is done • Quality inspection of the shipment simu- for all the produce in all exporting de- lations for various products. Those quality stinations. inspections are carried out in order to analyze the quality of the produce be- • Developing quality standards and wor- fore arriving at the importing country or king methods for assessing the internal before being introduced to the markets. and external quality of the produce. In With reference to these quality inspec- cooperation with the industry, quali- tion results, the exporters have a better ty standards for various products, e.g. knowledge of the quality of the expected persimmon, pomegranates, passion fruit, shipments. In addition, these results sweet potato, fresh herbs, etc. are develo- may assist them to discover and prevent ped. quality defects that couldn’t be detected

at the time of inspection, or some other pesticides. PPIS is assisted by the Agricultural progressive defects that originated at the Research Organization of Israel at Volcani pre harvest or packing stages. Center.

• Issuing international documents. Phyto- Participation in international organizations: sanitary, quality inspection and organic PPIS participates at the international forums certificates destined to accompany the like UNECE, OECD and CODEX ALIMENTARI- consignments exported from Israel are US. issued. Risk analysis of export quality inspection Place of inspection: The export inspection in Israel is carried out As an inspection service in Israel, the PPIS in Ashdod and Haifa seaports, Ben Gurion air- faces very intensive work dealing with the port and 5 district offices all over the country. inspection of fresh produce exported from In addition, the inspection is also carried out Israel. The experience shows that the focus at about 30 regional transit stations across the has to be where problems are expected. The- country. The idea behind the inspections in refore, a risk analysis is applied to the quality these transit stations is to make the inspection inspection at export stage. In principle, as as close as can be to the producers. This way better the packinghouse quality results are, the PPIS is able to give them quick feedback the intensity of the inspection is being decre- of their quality performance, and also get ased. The opposite is applied when the results better understanding from the grower since are not that good. the inspection is being done in front of them. The grower learns and can improve reflecting The PPIS does not have a precise algorithm to the inspection. It also saves cost since rejected indicate the process. We give a degree of free- consignments are transported back to the dom to the managers. In principle the system grower for adjustment or repacking. works as follows: the packinghouse sends the weekly export plan to the district manager. Personnel: This plan is based on export dates, types of The PPIS has 70 authorized inspectors of produce, varieties, quality categories, quan- which 12 senior staff / managers and 10 audi- tities, destinations, and other relevant infor- tors. The auditors work as inspectors and in mation. The district manager of PPIS carries addition they are doing audits on the organi- out the risk analysis taking into account the zations S.O.P and also on Quality Assurance data base on records and results of the certain System certified packinghouses. 80% of the packinghouse performance staff members are permanents and 20% are seasonal. Israeli export meeting EU quality standards Training: The training of the inspectors and all staff Inspection certificates: members is of great importance in the or- The statistics on number of inspection cer- ganization. Each inspector must participate tificates issued during the years 2003-2006 in basic training course of about 60 hours, show the increasing demand for inspection and only then may start his/her on the job certificates by quantities and by number of training, accompanied by a senior inspector. exporters. This means that the Israeli expor- Each inspector must normally have 24 to 32 ters find it very useful. This is a good example hours of training courses on annual basis. for cooperation and harmonization between a third country and the EU. Professional support: PPIS has maturity inspection laboratories. Meeting EU quality standards: Since the es- There are 4 citrus fruit labs and 3 avocado tablishment of the Israeli legislation in 1954, labs. Before and during the season, all pa- when the country was very young, the inten- cking houses maturity labs are checked, tion was to export only good quality produce. calibrated and approved by the PPIS. Moreo- This enables good and high profits for the ver, PPIS has diagnostic laboratories for plant Israeli industry. The Israeli quality standards diseases, pests, insects and mites as well as for are identical to the UN/ECE standards or have

© BLE, IAT- 2007 18 Export Inspection in Israel – Added Value to the Industry higher requirements, e. g. the Israeli citrus • Defining essential quality parameters and fruit standard deals with various aspects in grading them. addition and above the minimum requirements of the UN/ECE standards. • Implementing detailed quality inspections that reflect all quality aspects. The Israeli quality standards define and declare the picking dates for citrus fruit. • Taking record and reporting the inspec- More over, the Israeli grower is allowed to tion results. start picking only after a random sample of 25 fruits was sampled, inspected for maturity These inspections bring benefits to the indus- in an approved lab and the results are above try – growers, exporters, and clients. It helps the minimum requirements. In addition, I in contribution to transparency and aware- would like to introduce comparable table of ness of the quality performance. This enables Citrus fruit maturity which compares UN/ECE maintenance of good quality, flexibility in standards to the Israeli standards. handling of the consignments and contri- As you can see, the juice content require- butes to upgrade the quality. ments in lemon, orange and grapefruit are higher in the Israeli standards. More over, you The PPIS sees the Israeli industry as their cli- can see that the Israeli standard deals with su- ents and puts their client first. The role of PPIS gar acid ratio. The Israeli standard also deals is to serve the industry along the producing with peel thickness, amount and absence and marketing chain on a wider parameter of seeds in some of the varieties (especially scale than the minimum requirements of the in pummelo), and internal flesh color of red various quality standards as the quality is the grapefruit and red pummelo. name of the game.

Since Israel exports some products that have no UN/ECE standards or any other international standards, Israel develops and creates quality standards and brochures for these produce. This is for the purpose of producing high quality standard produce, and to market it at the export markets. A short list of these produce is fresh herbs, persimmon, pomegranates etc.

Expansion of the quality inspection results in added value to the industry

The Israeli grower can make a living only with high income and high profitability. For this, he has to produce and export only high quality produce. Israel is a country that is relatively far from its potential markets and the EU is the closest market. Since Israel doesn’t have land transportation to the EU markets and only sea and air transportation is possible the shipment costs are very high. In each case of consignment that does not meet the markets requirements, the direct and indirect damages and extra costs for the Israeli growers and exporters are very high. For these reasons the quality inspection must be expanded:

• Dealing with more quality parameters, i. e. other than the minimum requirements.

Explanation of the marketing standard for asparagus Lutz Böhme

Definitions Damage caused by washing and cooling: As- paragus is washed in ice water and cooled in The marketing standard, regulation (EC) No. order to maintain its quality. In this process it 2377/1999, applies to production varieties is to ensure that too intensive or too long wa- of asparagus shoots grown from the variety tering does not damage the asparagus. With Asparagus officialis L. to be supplied fresh to an improper cooling the tip degenerates first, the consumer. The outcome of this is that wild i. e. it gets soft and smells sourly. Shoots peris- asparagus of the variety Asparagus acutifolia hed this way have to be excluded from marke- is not subject to the marketing standard. ting. If by means of crashed ice the asparagus is kept fresh on its further transport it has to There are four different colour groups to be be observed that the shoots do not rest in the distinguished: white asparagus, violet aspara- melting water. gus, violet-green asparagus and green asparagus. The definition of the colour groups Clean: Asparagus has to be free of soil, sand, is complemented by the requirements or dirt and any other visible foreign matter. tolerances of the single classes. For the assessment of the colour groups it has to be consi- Fresh: Asparagus showing visible signs of dered that some varieties form anthocyanins flaccidity as decreasing stability or cracks which is to note by a differing intensity of at the base of the shoot are allowed in no the violet colour on the scales lamellas. With class. Slightly tack-dried cuts are not a sign of violet asparagus, violet/green asparagus and visible flaccidity if in other respects the shoot green asparagus the formation of anthocya- is fresh and turgid and, when performing the nin is not to be considered as a fault. fingernail test, fluid is leaking from the cut.

Least characteristics Damage by pests: Asparagus damaged by the asparagus maggot have to be excluded from Intact: No part must be damaged in a way marketing. that the product is fragmentary. Asparagus shoots with partial injuries due to harvest Bruises as they occur when using rubber or transport damage are not allowed. For all bands are not allowed in any class. In practise classes, removed scales lamellas without the it can be stated that green asparagus is much shell of the shoot being injured is not to be more damageable in this point than white regarded as a fault. Asparagus shoots that asparagus is. are partially peeled off, broken shoots or split shoots are „not intact“ and may only be Clean cut: Shoots with frayed cuts are allowed accepted within the framework of the 10 per- at the best within the scope of the tolerance cent tolerance of class II, as far as the shoots of class II, as far as the fitness for consumption do not show any other fault. For the rest, is not affected due to secondary infections asparagus shoots that are completely peeled (mildew, putrescence). off, i. e. ready to cook, may only be marketed outwith the standard, i. e. without declaring Hollow shoots: Higher temperature diffe- a class. rences in the soil layers may result in hollow shoots. A maximum of 15 % of such hollow Sound: Asparagus has completely to be fit shoots may be tolerated in class II as far as the for consumption. Shoots showing mildew hollow shoots are not discoloured inside. or affected by traces of rotting are excluded. Just as well, discoloured shoots or tips due to Small cracks which have appeared after wrong handling, cooling or transport have to harvesting are only allowed within the scope be excluded. The tip is the most sensitive part of the tolerance of the different classes. Such of the shoot, traces of rust on the tip are not small cracks should not exceed 1/3rd of the allowed. total length of the shoot.

Cracks in the shoot which have appeared af- Sizing ter washing are allowed at a level of maximal 10 % within the tolerance of class II, however, For white and violet asparagus the minimum after peeling, these shoots have to completely size is fixed to 8 mm, for violet/green and fit for consumption and must not show any green asparagus to 3mm. Due to an exception signs of rust. laid down in the definitions, asparagus below this minimum size must only be marketed if it Class criteria is presented in standardised units.

Form: Asparagus of the „Extra“ class has to be The diameter of shoots is measured at the practically straight, may be slightly curved for mid-point of their length. The length of white class I and more curved for class II. Multiple and violet asparagus must not exceed 23 cm, curves are only allowed in class II. When de- the length of violet/green and green aspara- aling with green asparagus, curves in the tip gus 27 cm. Below this size it is to distinguish area should not be regarded as fault because between short asparagus and tip chops. tips of green asparagus easily grow towards the light. Marking

Compactness: When dealing with white and Besides the packer and/or dispatcher, the violet asparagus the tips of „extra“ class have class and the country of origin further details to be very compact, the ones of class I must be are required for marking: if applicable the compact and the tips of class II may be slightly indication „short“ or „asparagus chops“, if ap- open, i.e. the scales lamellas in the tip area plicable the indication „white and violet“, the may lift off a little bit. The compactness of the least and maximum diameter for the classes tip generally decreases slightly from white “extra” and I, the least diameter followed by over violet to green. The scales lamellas of the indication of the maximal diameter or the „extra“ class may be more clearly developed indication “+” in class II. and in class II some short shoots below the tip may overtop the scales lamellas. Discussion

Colouring: In the „extra“ class, white aspa- Question: Why is it possible to grant a tole- ragus must only on the shoots show a slight rance for partially peeled asparagus within colouring of pink, in class I the pink colour the scope of class II? Shouldn’t the tolerances may also reach the tip and in class II the co- only be granted for unintentional faults and lour of the tips may also be slightly greenish. deterioration, the peeling, however, is an in- For green asparagus the length of the allowed tentional action in order to create a fault. Spar white proportion at the base of the shoots is limited: in the „extra” class no proportion of Answer: The partially peeled shoots have to white, in class I maximal 20 % and in class II be assessed as „not intact”. A tolerance may maximal 40 %. be granted for such damaged shoots as long as they are fit for consumption. When as- Traces of rust: Traces of rust are basically al- sessing the deterioration it is not possible to lowed only if the consumer is able to remove check if this fault has been created intentio- them by peeling. From this follows that traces nally or unintentionally. of rust on the tips are always excluded. In the „extra“ class only very slight traces, in class I Question: In class II it is allowed for white slight traces and in class II traces of rust are asparagus that the tip may show a slight allowed. greenish colour, but not the shoot. The pho- tograph presented during the lecture and Cut surface: In the classes „extra“ and I the cut classified as „allowed“, however, shows shoots surface at the base of the shoots must be as with a greenish coloration directly below the square as possible. Class II allows the cut to be tip. How does this comply with the standard slightly bevelled. text?

Answer: A greenish coloration always starts below the scales lamellas. The tip, i.e. the top

© BLE, IAT- 2007 21 Explanation of the marketing standard for asparagus of the shoot that is covered by scales lamellas is, when dealing with white asparagus, only becoming greenish if the asparagus grows aboveground and this way the entire shoot becomes intensively green. Insofar, the greenish discolouring that is allowed for class II can only concern the part of the shoot directly below the scales lamellas.

Question: In the country of origin, asparagus from Peru is treated with chlorine water in order to prevent the formation of mildew and deterioration on the cut surfaces. Is it possible to classify this asparagus as „not fresh“ if it shows tack-dried ends?

Answer: This asparagus may also be classified as „not sound“ if besides the dried ends it also shows a brownish discolouring under the paring.

Reasons for inward and outward quality defects in asparagus Prof. Dr. Peter- Jürgen Paschold

Due to the growing oversupply in asparagus, Quality defects customers frequently tend to judge quality more critically than in the past. They are The table shows important quality defects: prepared to pay a relatively high price for asparagus but expect readily identifiable high Morphological Substances of content quality. This does not only apply to outward (extrinsic) (intrinsic characteristics; customers increasingly ex- insufficient insufficient freshness pect good flavour, a high amount of nutrient- freshness providing contents and a limited content in curved shoots residues of pesticides residues of pesticides. Quality characteristics are determined by nu- rust lignification merous measures taken not only before but hollow shoots excessive content of also after harvest. bitter agents opened tips insufficient or untypical Trade assesses first and foremost appearance taste (form and colour of shoots) and impression smoothness value in terms of health? of freshness. Indications on age, substances of content and flavour are not yet taken into consideration; however, international ten- In the following, only a few aspects, which dencies well show that in future these will have been researched by the Geisenheim Re- increasingly gain importance. search Institute, can be looked into more closely. With a view to production, these aspects Substances of content and assessment of concern the appearance of hollow shoots flavour are difficult in so far as these change and, resulting thereof, the development of continuously. They depend on: a pink tint, the watering of shoots and their flavour, and, in particular, the occurrence of • the variety, bitter shoots.

• the age of shoots, • Hollow shoots

• soil and weather conditions in the pro- Depending on weather conditions, at times, duction area and/or the respective field, up to 80 % of asparagus shoots may be hollow, these then cannot be marketed as fresh pro- • weather conditions during growth and duce. In varying quantities, the occurrence harvest of the shoots, of hollow shoots is specific to certain years and production areas. For short periods, up to • conditions during post-harvest treatment 20% of otherwise marketable shoots can thus (storage at the producer, at the wholesale become unfit for sale, a phenomenon that market, in the shop, after purchase by the occurs not only at the beginning of the season customer). but throughout harvest time.

In general, trade assesses the quality of goods The risk that hollow shoots might develop very critically at the time take-over from the increases in particular with mounting diffe- producer, then, however, there frequently rences in temperature between the dam and is a drastic decrease in quality of asparagus, subsoil, when quick changes in temperature which is due to faulty storage in containers occur within only a few days and/or in case of that are unsuitable to asparagus. high dam temperatures. It is therefore advis- As a consequence, asparagus is more and able to follow the temperature situation of a more frequently bought directly from the crop as closely as possible, for this is the only producer. means of properly assessing the actual risk of development of hollow shoots.

Where a risk situation of the kind described Before watering, the mass of freshly har- above is identified, the growth of shoots vested 25-centimeter-shoots, after a short needs to be slowed by turning up the white wash and removal of water adhering to the side of the black and white foil. This particu- surface, was first determined at two different larly makes sense, if a relatively high number points in time, by means of a laboratory scale. of hollow shoots is to be expected; i.e. during The shoots were then submerged in water periods in spring when the weather warms having a temperature 8°C. After 2 hours and up very quickly, while the subsoil is still cold. 6 hours respectively, the asparagus was weig- Alternatively, a great number of non-mar- hed again. After two hours mass had increa- ketable shoots would be harvested. sed by 2%, after 6 hours it had increased by 3% to 3.7%. If hollow shoots increasingly develop due to low levels of soil humidity, the asparagus The Brix values of shoots as a determinant of should be covered with foil and irrigated sugar content were established before and more generously in order to shift the warmth after watering. Sugar content of the tip was from the dam to the lower layers and, by do- set at 100%. The median value at the end of the ing so, to reduce temperature gradients. shoot was between 67% and 83%, with no significant reduction being ascertainable after • Pink tint six hours of watering. Comparison of the ends of shoots of a length of 22 cm to 25 cm, and of The influx even of small quantities of light 19 cm to 22 cm, proved that there was only a leads to the development of a pink tint in slight tendency towards reduced Brix values. shoots and therefore practically cannot be avoided. An increase in temperature results However, after storing the asparagus in water in an even quicker change of colour and for six hours, the intensity of the typical as- increased intensity of colour. This change of paragus flavour proved considerably lower colour is the result of the development of an- by comparison with asparagus that had not tocyanine, which is considered of high nutri- been stored in water. tious value in terms of human consumption. Therefore, if at the stage of marketing, aspa- The image of high-quality white asparagus is ragus is advertised as being particularly rich opposed to the pink tint, which is therefore in flavour, it should only have been watered considered a quality defect; looked at objec- for a short period of time. tively, however, this is wrong. • Assessment of flavour (sensory analysis) In practice, the pink tint of asparagus that has been harvested white can only be avoided by Already in 1995 the department for vegetable watering, with the risk of development of a cultivation of the Geisenheim Research In- pink tint diminishing as the period of wate- stitute carried out the first sensory tests. Due ring lengthens. The effects of watering on the to participation of the department for wine quality of asparagus will be described below. analysis and beverage research, these were intensified from 2000 onwards. The following • Watering of shoots components of flavour are assessed: intense, sweet, bitter, typical of asparagus, watery, With regard to watering, the stipulated mini- and boiled vegetable. To conclude, popularity mum requirements are: “- free from damage is assessed. For this purpose, all individual caused by unsuitable washing or cooling” assessments are equally weighed and incor- and “- free of abnormal external moisture, i.e. porated, which leads to a popularity mark of a adequately ‘dried’ if they have been washed maximum of ten. or cooled with cold water”. All samples have been taken at the same site In Geisenheim, the question has been exa- and have received identical post-harvest mined, how the mass of asparagus, the total treatment. quantity of soluble sugars and flavour change during watering, in comparison with aspara- Shoots of a length of 22 cm were peeled in the gus that has not been watered. same way as normally done by the consumer.

They were then halved in the middle, and tips shoots and have higher sugar content. Beside and ends were cooked separately from each a reduced lignification, this also explains the other. This was followed by a tasting of the as- general preference for eating tips. paragus pieces by a trained panel consisting of ten people. The two components, bitterness and sweetness, are a good explanation for popularity; Evaluation of flavour is difficult in so far as however, these alone do not constitute the the quality of shoots constantly changes with only reason, as the example of the lower hal- regard to flavour-imparting substances of ves of asparagus samples of May 24th, 2005 content and to lignin encapsulation. Cooling shows (see diagram). The ‘Mondeo’ variety slows down the process but does not bring it proved most popular, although ‘Gijnlim’ to a halt. was considered far less bitter. ‘Rapsody’ and ‘Grolim’ here gave very unfavourable impres- Among other things, taste is determined by sions, while the higher popularity of the first- variety, the age of shoots, the soil and wea- named variety can be explained by its greater ther conditions in the production area and sweetness. the field respectively, weather conditions during growth and harvesting of shoots, In times of temperature and/or water stress, and conditions of post-harvest treatment. the shoots increasingly develop bitter agents. It is weather conditions that have the most Temperature stress develops in times of quick important influence on flavour. Therefore, in changes in temperature, or when tempera- order to properly assess a variety, sampling tures are excessively high or too low. Water is necessary throughout the season. On the stress occurs when soil moisture is extremely whole it has been proven that individual com- high or low. Any measure that helps to reduce ponents of flavour leave differing impressions such situations, which can result in a reduc-

ClassificationBewertung 8 bitterbitter 7 süßsweet Beliebtheitpopularity 6

0 Gijnlim Grolim Ramada Ravel Rapsody Mondeo as to flavour when in combination, with smell tion in yield, will improve yield and lead to a and oral feeling playing a role, too. A shoot of more harmonious development of flavour. excellent sweetness, a certain note of bitter- Therefore, intelligent use of foil can very well ness and other favourable components may help to reduce the development of the bitter be judged clearly more negatively in terms of component in flavour. In spring, foil helps to overall popularity, if the shoot is very fibrous. increase soil temperatures thus provoking Frequently tips are less bitter than the ends of faster growth. In consequence, there is less

© BLE, IAT- 2007 25 Reasons for inward and outward quality defects in asparagus lignification than when growth is delayed; weight definitely increases by 2-4%. and asparagus grown under foil gets better sensory assessment than asparagus that is Question: To date, producers in France were grown without foil. If, on the other hand, responsible for providing food retailers with temperature is too high, shoots will grow too suitable cooling units, if they wanted to offer quickly, which will lead to a reduction in the their produce in cooled condition to the typical asparagus flavour. This applies equally consumer. Is atomised spray cooling a suita- to asparagus grown with and without foil. ble method for keeping asparagus fresh, and must food retailers provide suitable units at Conclusion their own expense?

Weather conditions exert a significant influ- Answer: Atomised spray cooling is better than ence on quality. Proper management of foil nothing; and of course it is trade, and not the can improve quality, while distinct fluctua- producer, who is responsible for providing tions in quantity and quality are unavoidable the equipment. with outdoor produce. Question: Harvests are presently characte- There is no method that could guarantee that rised by hollow shoots. At times up to 50% of good quality and flavour will surely be achie- shoots are hollow. However, quality of hollow ved, irrespective of the prevailing conditions. shoots is better than it used to be in the past; At the moment of take over by the merchant, the shoots are only inwardly slightly torn and quality can diminish considerably within a not split open as they used to be. It is therefore short period of time. Ample examples of bad suggested that hollow shoots be marketed as quality are to be found with almost all chains a regular Class II product. of stores. In this way, the volume of trade in asparagus is considerable diminished. Answer: Hollow shoots occur, if the ground (dam) warms up too strongly in the upper Not always, but very frequently, the ‘Grolim’ part. This triggers strong growth in this part, variety stands out negatively due to its bitter while the root area cannot supply sugar as flavour. Practical experience has shown that, quickly. In terms of cultivation technique, in the case of direct marketing, an undesired this problem can easily be solved, however, at strong note of bitterness can leave the cu- the expense of yield. Using a suitable cultiva- stomer with a negative impression. On the tion technique can considerably reduce the other hand, at other times, the flavour of this percentage in hollow shoots. Hollow shoots variety is considered to be “typical of aspara- are not a cosmetic deficiency but a defect gus” i.e. it is not judged less favourably than involving a high risk that the shoots might be any other variety. This applies in particular soiled and become affected by microorganis- in case of high temperatures, when aspara- ms. Hollow shoots are not acceptable to the gus grows very quickly. Advantages of the consumer, as they always present a high risk variety, with a view to reduced cost for har- where consumption is concerned. vesting and preparation, play a considerable role when deciding which variety to grow. As intrinsic quality and flavour are not paid for, the producer is forced to grow asparagus in such a way as to achieve the highest yields in quality paid for.

Discussion following the talk

Question: During watering, asparagus ab- sorbs water and thus becomes heavier. Could this not be prevented by using some other method of cooling?

Answer: There is no alternative to watering asparagus after harvest. During watering, its

Asparagus - modern cultivation techniques in different asparagus–growing countries throughout the world Joachim Ziegler

Worldwide situation order to reduce erosion on several thousand hectares of sand dunes. The average surface Production areas and surface extent of Aspa- size per establishment supposedly still is ragus officinalis L. keep continuously chan- approx. 1-2 ha; reportedly, yields are good. ging. New production centres are set up, whi- Production focuses on white asparagus for le “old” areas sometimes loose considerably wet preservation. Fresh green asparagus is in importance. On the whole, worldwide increasingly also exported to Japan, although increase in the demand for asparagus has led strict Japanese hygiene and quality provisi- to production covering a surface of approx. ons sometimes do pose problems. It is a very 225,000 ha in approx. 60 countries. Cultiva- pleasing fact that China has discovered aspa- tion of green asparagus dominates with a ragus as an anti-cancer food for its strongly percentage of approx. 57%, while cultivation growing domestic market. By now, approx. 45 of white asparagus amounts to 43% of overall % of production is sold in the domestic mar- production. ket. More severe natural catastrophes such as flooding can easily destroy surfaces covering According to B. Benson, as presented during 10,000 ha or more. the International Asparagus Symposium 2005 in the Netherlands, there are wide diffe- Production techniques in the cool desert rences in the way in which production areas of Peru have developed; this is due to the marked differences in economic conditions for compe- Due to the climatic conditions particular titive production, as required by purchasers, to this country, Peru holds a special place and to sophisticated demand, both at home among all asparagus –growing countries. and abroad. While traditional asparagus Near-equatorial production focuses on the producing countries of the northern hemis- desert along the frequently foggy coast. Due phere, e. g. the U.S., France or Spain, have to the low temperatures of the Humboldt suffered huge losses in production surfaces Stream, between Ica in the south and Trujillo during the last decade, other countries, such in the north, a climate prevails, where tempe- as Mexico (15,825 ha), Peru (18,000 ha +), Chi- ratures below +10 °C (south) or +13 °C (north) na and others, have gained great importance are unknown. Maximum temperatures excee- in providing fresh and industrially processed ding +30 °C are rare. asparagus (frosting and tinned produce respectively), as a result of extremely low labour This stretch of desert normally experiences cost. Among highly industrialised countries rain only in El Nino years, but then rainfalls with traditionally strong asparagus pro- tend to be heavy. With these climatic condi- duction only very few have succeeded (e.g. tions, asparagus provides yields after a very Germany, Italy, Japan) in maintaining their short period of time. In the desert sand, after production and, due to increased demand for a fortnight a kind of compulsory rest period is domestic produce, in realising an increase in achieved by turning off irrigation. The aspa- direct marketing and in even considerably ragus fern is chaffed, worked into the ground, expanding their production, which is in parts small dams are built, irrigation is turned on based on increased market prices. again, and after three days harvesting can start all over again. China – the most important producer For full-time asparagus growers this method With 80,000 ha China is the most important allows (from the third year onwards) for up to producer in Asia, which has an estimated to- 2,5 harvests per year. The regeneration period tal production area of 89,840 ha. Production for storing reserves for the next harvest and focuses on the fertile provinces surrounding for new shoots to sprout takes approx. four Beijing; however, in the south, too, e.g. in the months. In this way, very high annual yields province of Jiangsi, asparagus is planted in of up to 14 t/ha can be achieved; harvesting is

© BLE, IAT- 2007 27 Asparagus - modern cultivation techniques in different asparagus–growing countries throughout the world possible throughout the year and can be ad- surfaces (50-60%), by introducing new mans justed to export demand at discretion. 99 % of of double coverage (mostly low tunnels over production is exported, of which 60 % are ex- black-and-white blown film), and by consi- ported as fresh produce. Peru thus is the only derably delaying the remaining surfaces, by country to supply white (30%) and green (70%) means of a combination of growing varieties asparagus throughout the year. Enterprises that sprout late, and by using white starting are of a considerable size and have several coverage. For extremely early cultivation, a thousand hectares under cultivation. number of 40 up to a maximum of 50 cutting days are often sufficient for an optimum The cost of the Indian labour force still is very yield; then asparagus plants can be allowed low; what is problematic though are high to recover. In this way, production on a huge freight costs, as the majority of produce must part of the surfaces used for early production be forwarded by airfreight from Lima to the can be stopped very early (10th to 20th May), countries of destination (the U.S., Europe and markets can subsequently be supplied etc.). It is hoped that new transport systems, from the surfaces where growth has been involving special CA containers that will be delayed. By constantly monitoring tempe- shipped to Europe, with shipping time ta- rature of the dams and timely turning of the king approx 5-6 weeks, will result in a drastic black-and-white blown film from black to reduction of freightage. With a view to this white; heat build-up within the asparagus very long period of storage for fresh aspara- dam is avoided; this helps not only to control gus, the produce may still be very appealing quality but also daily harvest yields. With to the eye; in terms of taste, however, caution this instrument, it is possible for early German is recommended, a fact known from Europe- production areas to supply fresh asparagus, an experiments with long-term controlled also from regional production, for a period atmosphere storage. In this respect, the mini- of almost three months, without artificial mum requirement “free of any foreign taste” heating of the ground. For green asparagus, is open to debate, as enquiries from some con- which in Germany in April is very susceptible sumers with the author have shown in 2006. to frost damage, low tunnels help to prolong the harvest season for more than a fortnight. Long domestic season for German asparagus

Beside Switzerland, Germany is the country with the highest per-capita consumption of fresh asparagus. At approx. 95 %, white asparagus is still favoured by German consumers.

As production has been hugely expanded to more than 21,000 ha in 2006, during the German production period, which runs from mid-April to 24th June, imports came under considerable pressure in past years. In recent years, classic export countries, such as Spain and Greece, had to drastically reduce the extent of their production because of the sometimes-cutthroat producer prices (exception 2006).

Good prices at the beginning of the season are the reason why early cultivation is strongly expanded throughout German production areas. In order to be able to place the growing quantities supplied from the expanded areas under cultivation on the market, producers increasingly switch to extremely early cultivation on part of the cultivated

Proof of origin by means of stable isotope technique and the asparagus database Dr Claus Schlicht

Past experiences have shown that authen- conditions and regional differences within ticity examination through conventional the production area. We may therefore speak chemical analytical methods by means of of an “isotope fingerprint”. This fingerprint documents or retraceability systems are not allows for conclusions to be drawn on the entirely unforgeable in the case of foodstuffs. origin of an individual substance (sugar, fruit acids, flavouring substances, etc.) or the For the control of foodstuffs, isotope ratio origin of a foodstuff. Asparagus will serve as mass spectrometry (IRMS) is therefore incre- an example for demonstrating the efficiency asingly used; in particular where so-called of this method in connection with a statistical “bio elements” (hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, evaluation. carbon and sulphur) are concerned; in many cases this allows for traceability of foodstuffs Specific features with regard to the choice of and feeding stuffs and for checking the geo- the respective elements, including the spe- graphical designation of origin in an objec- cific features of the respective components, tive manner, and safe from all manipulation. and of the evaluation procedures will be looked into. By now, this type of determination represents a recognized analytical method for analysing After this method has been successfully put and assessing foodstuffs, which is mainly into practice in Bavaria since 2003, it has in applied for wine and juice analysis (e. g. DIN the meanwhile become the basis for a com- standards), for control of honey, for testing for mon examination method applied at federal artificial flavouring and for the determinati- level and is now the prerequisite for a natio- on of origin of certain foodstuffs. nal asparagus database at the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety The Bavarian Regional Health and Food (Bundesinstitut für Verbraucherschutz und Safety Authority (Landesamt für Gesundheit Lebensmittelsicherheit, BVL). The method has und Lebensmittelsicherheit, LGL) was the first been adopted by research institutions that German testing agency to start running its by now are also equipped with the necessary own stable isotope tests in 1999. As aspara- apparatus. gus has always been a product of particular By means of comparative testing, a working regional importance, it has always taken group consisting of representatives from the centre stage where the consumer’s interests Federation and the Laender, and which is co- are concerned. For this reason, one of the first ordinated by the Federal Office for Consumer applications of this new technique was to Protection and Food Safety, has ensured that examine the origin of this high-price vege- measurements by the respective laboratories table. This talk will provide a description of that dispose of IRMS equipment (Laender: the approach used by the LGL for developing Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Lower Saxony, a method for this; the same applies to the ap- Westphalia, and the Federal Institute for Risk paratus required for applying the analytical Assessment (Bundesinstitut für Risikobewer- technique mentioned. Moreover, the under- tung, BfR) and other, sometimes also private, lying biochemical, climatic and geological institutions) have supplied results that could causes for this isotope discrimination will be compared. be looked into, as these are responsible for regional characteristic conditions for stable Besides, sample preparation also underwent isotopes of “bio elements”. separate comparative testing in order to enable other interested Laender with asparagus As plants generally do not make a difference producing areas to take authentic samples between the differing weight versions of a and to review these. The reviewed samples, chemical element when building up their in- including those from neighbouring countries herent substances, the corresponding isotope (e. g. Hungary, the Czech Republic, Austria), signatures within the plant also reflect the were distributed among the specialized labo-

© BLE, IAT- 2007 29 Proof of origin by means of stable isotope technique and the asparagus database ratories, depending on the their respective measurement capacities. At the BVL, the data thus obtained are dynamically consolidated in the national asparagus database and now serve as a basis for evaluation to the Laender.

The fact that the applications described, and publications on the subject, keep growing in number raises expectations that determination of origin will not remain constrained to asparagus alone but that the use of this new method for controlling foodstuffs will be ex- tended to a multitude of foodstuffs. In future, the stabile isotope technique will therefore certainly play an increasingly important role for the official control of foodstuffs.

Withdrawal of the Regulation on Legal Commercial Classes for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables in Germany Johannes Graf

What is the legal status after the withdra- man) standard. Those produce may come wal of the Regulation on Legal Commercial from different countries of origin and may be Classes for fruit and vegetables in Germany? marked with a quality class. Is it correct, that those produce originating in Germany would Regierungspräsidium Tübingen have to be rejected (because of the indication of a quality class), while the indication of a Answer: The Regulation on legal commer- quality class on the same produce originating cial classes for fresh fruit and vegetables of from another EU member state would have to 9 October 1971(Federal Journal on Laws and be accepted in application of article 28 of the Regulations I S. 1640, 1972 I S. 81) did lay down EU treaty? Wouldn’t this be detrimental to commercial marketing standards for: broad the German producer or trader? beans, lamb’s lettuce, celeriac (Apium grave- olens rapaceum), kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea Regierungspräsidium Gießen gongylodes), horse-radish, radish, beetroot, scorzonera, raspberries, blackberries, bilber- Answer: In accordance with § 7 paragraph 1 ries, cowberries, currants and gooseberries. no. 2 of the law on legal commercial quality classes, those act contrary to legal provisions The above-mentioned regulation has been that offer, keep for sale, deliver, sell or place withdrawn by the regulation on the withdra- into circulation a produce marked with an wal of the legal commercial classes for fresh indication pretending a legal commercial fruit and vegetables of 23 Februar 2006. This quality class that does not exist. Moreover, § 11 regulation came into force on 1 January 2007. of the Law on Food and Feeding Stuff prohi- bits food being circulated under a deceptive There is no specific national marketing denomination, specification or presentation. standard for the produce mentioned above and all other fruit and vegetables not being § 7 paragraph 1 no 2 of the law on legal com- covered by an EC marketing standard. With mercial quality classes does not allow the use respect to the EC Treaty, the marketing of of the German word “Handelsklasse” as well these produce has to respect the rules of free as the term “Klasse” or composed words like circulation of goods prohibiting any quanti- “Güteklasse” for the different classifications. tative import restriction as well as any measure of similar impact. The latter includes all The control of the used term(s) as well as the measures that have real or potential impact eventual prosecution at all levels of distribution the intra-community trade. With respect on comes under the responsibility of the com- to the so-called “Cassis de Dijon” verdict of petent services of the federal states (Länder) the European Court of Justice, produce being as they have the competence for execution of legally placed into circulation in one EU the Law on Legal Commercial Quality Classes member state are legally in free circulation in as well as the Law on Food and Feeding Stuff. the single market provided there is no impe- rative demand with respect to an effective tax Does the BLE know whether in other EU mem- control, the protection of public health, the ber states national standards for produce purity of the trade and the consumer protec- exist that is not covered by the EC marketing tion are not affected. With respect to article standards? Are lists available summarising 28 of the EC Treaty, the ban on the restriction those produce? of the intra-community trade include special provisions on marking, that are effective in Regierungspräsidium Gießen single member states only. Answer: The situation is quite different in At whole sale and retail level produce is each member state. There are member states marketed that is neither covered by an EC implementing national standards for a marketing standard nor by a national (Ger- number of produce. In addition, many produce are not covered by a standard. In some

© BLE, IAT- 2007 31 Withdrawal of the Regulation on Legal Commercial Classes for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables in Germany member states it is allowed to market those How should the marking at the shelf in the produce with the indication of a class, but a store look like in case of produce packed governmental control is not executed. according to an industry driven standard, a national standard of an EU member state or The BLE could establish a list showing the an UNECE standard? legal and practical situation for produce not being covered by EC marketing standards in LAVES, Oldenburg the member states. But such a list is neither appropriate nor necessary. Because of the Answer: There are no special provisions as EC Treaty, we have to assume, that a produce regards marking for this produce at the shelf originating in one member state and being in the store. placed in circulation in Germany has been legally distributed in its member state of origin. Is produce graded, packed and labelled in It is not allowed to assume that the indication accordance with UNECE standards – with of a class on a produce originating in another respect to the German law on legal commer- member state would affect the effective tax cial quality classes equal to industry driven control, the protection of the public health, standards? If yes, would the agreement from the purity of trade and the consumer protec- previous Geisenheim meetings, saying that tion. Therefore, it is neither legally possible the marking with a quality class on produce to reject a produce originating in another respecting an UNECE standard would be tole- member state because of the indication of a rated, have to be withdrawn? class nor to check whether the indication of the class is in accordance with the legal provi- LAVES, Oldenburg sions of the member state of origin. Answer: The presentation and marking in What do the inspection services in other EU accordance with the UNECE standards is allo- member states do in case producers indicate wed. But with respect to § 7 paragraph 1 no. a quality class on produce not being covered 2 of the law on commercial quality classes it by a common or national marketing stan- is not allowed to use the German term “Klas- dard? se”. The letter of the BMELV of 4 March 2005 – Az.: 415-408/0000 has been withdrawn by Regierungspräsidium Gießen 02.01.2007. The ministries of the federal states (Länder) and the associations have been infor- Answer: The inspectors of other member med accordingly. states have to apply the same common provisions as the German inspectors. In case of any Is it possible to use pre-printed packages or doubts, it is advisable to contact the co-ordi- labels showing – in accordance with the with- nating authority (BLE in Germany). drawn national regulation – the indication “Klasse” or “Handelsklasse” or “HKl” until the Is it allowed that industry may develop/apply end of 2007? marketing standards for all produce that is not covered by EC marketing standards? Is it Landwirtschaftskammer Niedersachsen possible/advisable to recommend the introduction of industry driven marketing stan- Answer: The use of those labels is allowed pro- dards? vided the indication of the term “Klasse”, “Handelsklasse”, “Güteklasse” or any equiva- Regierungspräsidium Tübingen lent composition of the word or abbreviations Regierungspräsidium Gießen has been deleted. Answer: For fruit and vegetables this question can be answered with yes. From the perspective of the BMELV it would be desirable that those industry driven standards would be harmonised. The BVEO (Federal Association of Producer Organisations) has elaborated a draft proposal in this regard.

Discussion Forum on the “Standard Interpretation and Quality Control” Team: Istvan Ecsedi, Franz Egerer, Heinrich Stevens

Marketing Standard for Cucumbers The question is relevant with respect to head formation and minimum weight. In cucumbers, feeding thrips cause similar defects as does rubbing. Therefore, the questi- BLE, Bonn on is whether the damage caused by thrips may be evaluated as “skin damage” that may Answer: Salanova® is a trade mark registered be allowed to a certain degree in Classes I and by Rijk Zwaan Zaadteelt en Zaadhandel B.V. II or as “damage caused by pests” allowed in Netherlands. In the context of the interpreta- the 10 % tolerance of Class II only? tion of the marketing standard for lettuces, curled-leaved endive and broad-leaved (Ba- BLE, Bonn tavian) endives, rather than dealing with the trade mark, the answer can only deal with the Answer: Damage caused by thrips in cu- varieties of the new type, called “multi-leaf”. cumbers is mainly found in the summer and This type comprises varieties of head (cabba- towards the end of season. The damage in ge) lettuce, Batavia lettuce, oak leaf lettuce cucumbers is characterised by silvery looking and incised lettuce. The type “multi-leaf” is parts of the skin (air below epidermis) – even characterised by a rosette-like growth and in the grooves - as well as black excrement sometimes more than one centre per “head”. from the insects. But the numerous leaves (at least twice as In case of very early infestation fruits may be many as in conventional varieties; > 200 lea- deformed and show stunted growth. With ves ideally) which are well developed and of a magnifying glass one can see punctures, equal size do not form a head by overlapping serious damage is mainly characterised by which used to be characteristic for Batavia extensive skin defects. lettuces until now. However, the heads may always be identi- Damage that can clearly be assessed as fied as head lettuce, Batavia lettuce, oak leaf caused by feeding thrips has to be scored as lettuce or incised lettuce because of their leaf “damage caused by pests” and may be allo- structure and habit. wed in the 10 % tolerance of Class II provided the edibility is not affected. If it is not possible In accordance with the marketing standard, to distinguish between damage caused by the oak leaf lettuces and incised leaf lettu- feeding thrips and skin defects due to rub- ces of the “multi-leaf” type have to meet the bing of leaves, stalks or neighbouring cucum- minimum weight of 100 g as required for bers these damages have to be scored as “skin leaf lettuce. The formation of a head, i.e. the defects”. overlapping of leaves is not required for leaf Depending on the degree of damage these lettuce. skin defects may be allowed in Class I or II. Lettuces showing head formation such as Marketing Standard for Lettuces, Curled- head or butter lettuce and Batavia lettuce leaved and Broad-leaved (Batavian) Endi- must, if grown in the open, meet a minimum ves weight of 150 g and of 100 g if grown under protection. According to the standard for lettuces, cur- These minimum weights also apply to the led-leaved endives and broad-leaved (Bata- varieties head lettuce or Batavia lettuce of vian) endives, head formation is required for the “multi-leaf” type. With respect to head head lettuce. The question is whether the new formation, all varieties – including those of varieties of headed lettuce (where inside the the “multi-leaf” type – have to show the head lettuce head several small heads are formed, formation typical for the variety. For “multi- which consist of “rosette-like layers of lea- leaf” type lettuces this means that the head ves”), marketed under the trade name of Sala- has to be compact while overlapping of leaves nova®, should be considered as head lettuce is not required. or as leaf lettuce?

At certain times of the year, lettuce heads Answer: In case of head lettuce the overlap- showing tight leaf clusters with leaves that do ping leaves form a head in a rosette growth not detach easily from each other are mar- habit about a very short stem. The following keted as Class I. The lettuce is not running to characteristics apply for head formation: seed and edibility is not affected. Would it be possible to reject this type of lettuce due to Class I – grown in the open: The minimum restricted usability? weight is 150 g. The head must show overlapping leaves of several leaf circles and a certain ADD, Neustadt Weinstraße number of tender and yellow internal leaves.

Answer: The Standard for Lettuces does not Class I – grown under protection: The mini- consider usability. It only refers to edibility. mum weight is 100 g. The head must show The produce in question is described as fully overlapping leaves of at least one leaf circle. edible. Class I requires a well formed (habit) and well developed head (compactness Class II – grown in the open: The minimum depending on growth in the open or under weight is 150 g. The head must show overlap- protection). As the produce has obviously met ping leaves of at least one leaf circle. Multi- these provisions and is edible as well, a classi- centred heads, caused by low temperatures fication according to Class I is admissible. during growth, may be scored as Class II.

The marketing standard for lettuces, curled- Class II – grown under protection: The mini- leaved endives and broad-leaved (Batavian) mum weight is 100 g. Head formation is not endives requires under II. A “Minimum requi- required. rements” that lettuces must not be running to seed. How to determine “running to seed”? Marketing Standard for Tomatoes

ConJaGO, Nürtingen How should tomatoes be evaluated that show discoloration as a consequence of a virus di- Answer: Depending on the variety (early, sease (e. g. pepino mosaic virus)? As the defect middle, late season) and season (length of the is due to a disease, tomatoes showing the day), and in case of high temperatures and a defect and not being affected in their edibility certain lack of water, lettuce may run to seed, may only be accepted in the 10 % tolerance of i.e. it starts its generative period and develops Class II. Is this interpretation accepted? an inflorescence. In case the terminal bud shows a definite longitudinal growth, the BLE, Bonn lettuce has to be scored as “running to seed”. Heads of lettuce that is “running to seed” Answer: Tomatoes showing a marbled appea- are longitudinal in shape and less compact. rance caused by the pepino mosaic virus have The longitudinal cut reveals that the inflo- to be scored as “not sound”. As the symptoms rescence has shot up. The edibility of lettuce of the virus do affect neither shelf life nor “running to seed” may be affected because of taste, these fruit may be allowed in the 10 % a bitter taste. In that case, the lettuce is to be tolerance of Class II. excluded from marketing; granting a tole- Participants: How would you classify the rance is not possible. tomatoes shown? The marketing standard for lettuces, curled- Class I Class II 10 % tolerance Out of grade leaved endives and broad-leaved (Batavian) Class II without tole- endives requires head lettuce grown in the rance open to have a single well-formed heart. What is the definition for “well formed”? 3 % 20 % 45 % 32 % Which graduation is permissible for a) Class I head lettuce grown under protection, b) Class Comments by the team of experts: Based on II head lettuce grown in the open and c) Class the existing standard text it is not possible to II head lettuce grown under protection? reject the affected produce without granting a tolerance because edibility is not affected. ConJaGO, Nürtingen

The result of this survey will be reported to Marketing Standard for Beans the EC Commission and UNECE, where the amendment of the standard for tomatoes is Originating in various African exporting currently discussed. countries, beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) with their ends cut off and packed in sales pa- Marketing Standard for Leeks ckages, are notified for quality inspection at import level. Leeks may show damage due to thrips on the How do other member states’ inspection leaves only – irrespective of the length of the services assess the minimum requirement white to greenish white part (shaft) of the “intact” if these sales packages are marked leek. Defects due to thrips are often restricted with Class I? to the area below the point where the leaf blade enters the shaft. According to the BLE, Bonn marketing standard leeks having a very long Answer: Beans with their ends missing or white to greenish-white shaft and showing peeled asparagus are considered to be ready slight defects on the shaft are to be refected as to eat or ready for cooking. If this type of pro- are leeks with a short white to greenish-white duce is marked with a class it does not meet shaft. the minimum requirement “intact”. Therefo- ADD, Trier re, it should only be marketed without indica- ting a class. Answer: While Class I allows only slight damage due to thrips, Class II allows damage Participants’ remark: due to thrips, small rust spots and slight bru- Beans with only one end cut off may be allo- ising. Irrespective of the length of the shaft wed in the 10 % tolerance. and its length in relation to the total length of Answer: Beans having the stalk and a small the leeks, these “defects” are accepted at the section of the narrow part of the neck missing leaves only. This is to guarantee that the shaft are allowed at a maximum of 15 % in Class I is edible without any loss. and 30 % in Class II, provided the pods remain Participants’ remarks: closed, dry and not discoloured. Open pods In the Netherlands more defects due to Thrips or pods with discoloured broken/cut ends are are allowed in Classes I and II. allowed in the 10 % tolerance of Class II only.

Answer: An amendment of the marketing Marketing Standard for Asparagus standard would be necessary to allow this interpretation. According to the marketing standard for asparagus, broken asparagus (with and without As the leaves are edible as well, it is hard to tips) may not be marketed. Yet, we now know understand that defects due to thrips may be of cases where broken asparagus is given more severe on the leaves than on the shaft. away to the public; for instance, a producer Another question is why defects do not also gives 1 kg (or more) broken asparagus to eve- take into account shaft length in relation to ryone who comes to his farm by public bus. total length? Is this to be regarded as an inadmissible tying transaction? Answer: An amendment of the marketing How do inspection services of other Laender standard would be necessary to allow this or member states handle this issue? interpretation. TLL, Jena May the leaves be cut in order to reduce damage due to thrips? Answer: On his holding, in accordance with Answer: Yes, the leaves may be cut, but the article 3 number 3a) of Regulation (EC) No area where the leaves enter the shaft must be 2200/96, a producer is allowed to sell or intact. give his/her produce away for free to consumers for their personal use. The question of whether or not this constitutes an illegal

© BLE, IAT- 2007 35 Discussion Forum on the “Standard Interpretation and Quality Control” tying transaction is to be answered in applica- Answer: The asparagus in question – white tion of the German law against unfair compe- tip, faint pink tint on the shoot, compact tip – tition. meets the requirements for white asparagus of Class “Extra”. Participants’ remark: In France, a producer may market broken Regarding the colour group “violet” the defi- asparagus only on his farm or on his market nition says that the tip must be pink or violet stand at the local market. purple. Therefore, the asparagus in question may only be classified as violet asparagus – in Is it allowed to market fresh or broken aspara- every class. gus – without a class indication – as feedstuff for rabbits? Marketing Standard for Onions TLL, Jena How does the marketing standard categorise Amtstierarzt der Stadt Brandenburg a. d. H “glassiness”? According to issue no. 61 (Appel- Answer: The major legal regulations concer- hans Verlag) of the explanatory notes publis- ning the retail sale of asparagus as fodder are hed by the Working Group on Quality Con- contained in the German Food and Feedstuffs trol of Fruit, Vegetables and Early and Ware Act, Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002, the German Potatoes [Arbeitskreis Qualitätskontrolle bei regulation on feedstuffs and in Regulation Obst, Gemüse und Speisekartoffeln], glassi- (EC) No. 183/2005. Fruits and vegetables are ness is diagnosed as bacterial soft rot and the to be considered single feedstuffs and have affected bulbs are out of grade. Phytosanitary to be labelled according to their “nature,” Measures in Vegetable Gardening (published provided they are not listed in Annex 1a of the by Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2002) identifies regulation on feedstuffs. The information to “Speckhaut” [greasy skin] as glassiness. In ap- be indicated is listed in Annex 1a of the same plication of the standard, glassiness is a defect regulation. There are exemptions for fresh if 3 and more layers of the flesh are affected. single feedstuffs marketed directly by the How do other Laender inspection services or producer to the final consumer. other member states handle the issue?

Producers or sellers of feedstuffs, who are TLL, Jena feed business operators in accordance with Answer: Glassiness is a physiological disorder Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002 and Regulation and due to unbalanced water management (EC) No. 183/2005, have to respect the relevant in the bulb. It is mainly found in times of high obligations, the registration with the compe- rainfall (in autumn) while the glassy appea- tent authority being one of them. Regulation rance is stimulated by low temperatures du- (EC) No. 183/2005 provides special exemp- ring storage. After storage, slight glassiness tions for sales of small quantities. The Regu- may disappear as bulbs warm up to 8 – 12 °C. lation (EC) No. 183/2005 does not cover feedstuffs destined for animals kept on a private The defect called “Speckhaut” [greasy skin] is basis – not even if for private consumption. In a bacterial rot caused by Erwinia carotovora case of these exemptions then, a registration ssp. carotovora. The infection occurs at high as feed business operator is not necessary. relative humidity when lenticels are wide Consequently the above-mentioned rules open or through (micro-) injuries. Conducive and regulations have to be checked in each conditions (temperatures above 10 °C, high individual case. relative humidity and low oxygen concentration) increase the number of bacteria and ul- May shoots of asparagus showing very com- timately cause the typical defect, greasy skin. pact tips but a slight pink tint on the shoots be The ultimate protective layer of skin, at times marketed as “Extra” Class in the colour group covered by several layers of dry outer skin, is “violet”, although the tips do neither show a greasy to touch while, at times, the outer (and pink nor a violet or purple coloration, or are additional) fleshy ring(s) are affected as well. these shoots to be marketed solely in Class I, Sometimes, the defect is accompanied by a colour group “white”? typical sour stench. TLL, Jena

It follows from these explanations that glassi- rent weight according to their needs. We do ness and greasy skin are not the same defect. consider it essential that the marketing stan- However, given that glassiness might facili- dard allow labelling according to net weight tate the development of greasy skin (Erwinia and to number of units. Why not restrict the infection) glassiness and greasy skin may mandatory indication of the number of units occur at the same time. to the newly included mixture of species of headed cabbage? Assessment of glassiness: Landwirtschaftskammer Nordrhein- Class I: A very slight glassiness is allowed, i.e. Westfalen only a part of the outer fleshy ring may be Regierungspräsidium Stuttgart affected. Bundesausschuss Obst und Gemüse, Berlin ConJaGO, Nürtingen Class II: A slight glassiness is allowed, i.e. up to two outer fleshy rings may be affected in Answer: The weight indication was deleted total. The texture of the rings must not be from the marketing standard for headed affected. cabbage for a reason as, throughout the EU, there are no uniform rules on tolerances for a Assessment of a shiny, brown outer skin: deviation from weight indications in open packages and because a relatively complicated If only the last outer skin protecting the flesh EU-uniform rule for pre-packages is already is of “greasy” and shiny appearance while the included in Directive 76/211/EEC. In order smell is normal, this defect is allowed in Class to avoid discrepancies with member states’ II as “slight damage due to disease”. national laws or any double regulation, the indication of the net weight was deleted. Assessment of greasy onion skin: While it was clear to all parties involved that The bulb has to be scored as “not sound” the indication of the number of units would in case the first fleshy ring is “greasy” and become mandatory its consequences for daily discoloured. If a sour, bad taste occurs at the life were neglected. The delegates in Brussels same time (caused by Erwinia carotovora ssp. have discussed the problem. carotovora), the bulbs are out of grade. In In one of its next sessions the management both cases, granting a tolerance is impossible committee will have to decide on a new because edibility is affected. proposal to amend the standard by deleting the mandatory indication of units. With Marketing Standard for Headed Cabbage this amendment both the indication of net Following the amendment of the marketing weight and the indication of units, according standard for headed cabbage, the indication to trade practice, shall become voluntary and of the net weight has been deleted and indi- need no longer be controlled during confor- cating the number of units became manda- mity checks. tory. In Germany, headed cabbage is usually Editor’s note: the mandatory indication of the traded by weight and not by number of units. number of units has been deleted from the Therefore, producers size headed cabbage standard by Commission Regulation (EC) No by weight and keep labels which indicate the 782/2007 from 3rd July 2007. respective net weight (e.g. 10 kg). The number of units may vary greatly within a given Marketing Standard for Apples net weight. After packing, according to the current marketing standard, the producer/ How must a bruise, of fingernail size and packer would have to indicate by hand the slightly discoloured, be evaluated in apples of number of units in each box. Class I? May the defect (brown discoloration) Switching from trading by weight to trading be more severe at stages following dispatch? by number of units would require more uniform sizing within the given uniformity rules. ConJaGO, Nürtingen In that case, however, consumers would no longer be able to select among heads of diffe-

Answer: In Class I, slight bruises that are not Marketing Standard for Citrus Fruit discoloured are allowed up to a total surface of 1 cm2. What type of preserving agents or other chemical substances used at the post-harvest In Class II, slight bruises that may be slightly stage have to be indicated on packages of discoloured are allowed up to a total surface citrus fruit? of 1.5 cm2. BLE, Bonn The marketing standard does not grant any Answer: In accordance with the marketing additional tolerance on market levels follow- standard for citrus fruit (Reg. No 1799/2001), ing dispatch. any preserving agent being applied after harvest has to be indicated on the package. For apples packed in layers a maximum size This has to be respected even if regulations on difference of 5 mm in the package is admissi- the authorisation of preserving agents do not ble while the allowed size difference in sales specify any rules for labelling of the package. packages is 10 mm. How are apples in sales packages to be sized in 3 kg boxes of layered Based on Directive 2003/1147EC of the Europe- produce for instance? an Parliament and the Council of 22 Decem- ber 2003 and on the German regulation on LANUV, Düsseldorf preserving agents, only Orthophenylphenol and Sodium-Orthophenylphenol are allowed Answer: According to the existing standard, as preserving agents for citrus fruit to be ap- cartons with fruits packed in layers have to plied after harvest. respect the maximum size difference of 5 mm, irrespective of the fact that these cartons In accordance with Directive 97/73/EC of the could be sold as sales packages. The maxi- Commission of 15 December 1997, Imazalil is mum size difference of 10 mm may be applied allowed as a fungicide only, i.e. it may only be to sales packages with fruit packed in bulk or applied before harvesting. Under certain con- to foodtainers. ditions, however, member states may authori- se a post-harvest treatment, i.e. application as Marketing Standard for Apricots a preserving agent.

In Class I the following defects are specified In Spain pesticides based on Imazalil are allo- and allowed: a slight defect in shape or deve- wed for the post-harvest treatment of citrus lopment, a slight defect in colouring, slight fruit, apples and pears; via direct application rubbing and slight burning. In Class II, only - only if mixed with legal waxes - by a drench the skin defects are specified and allowed to a system or by pulverisation in a tunnel over larger extent than in Class I. All other defects the conveyor belt. mentioned in Class I are not specified in Class They are only authorised for treatment car- II. Which defects are allowed for apricots of ried out by producer organisations of fruit Class II during daily inspection? and vegetables and by professional operators, provided an appropriate decontamination BLE, Bonn system is in place which guarantees that the Answer: In Class II of the marketing standard maximum residue level in the water does not for apricots, skin defects are the only defects exceed 8.7 μg/l. that are explicitly allowed, while in Class I, In accordance with the German regulation on additionally, a slight defect in development, maximum residue levels, the maximum value a slight defect in colour, slight rubbing and is 5 ppm/kg for citrus fruit, irrespective of the slight sunburn are allowed. In daily inspec- time of application (before or after harvest) as tion, the defects mentioned in Class I are allo- the time of application cannot be determined wed in Class II, but to a more severe extent. It when checking the residue level. would help if the marketing standard could be amended accordingly. The marketing standard requires the indication of “Imazalil” if it was applied as a post- harvest treatment.

Citrus fruit in sales packages frequently show designating the variety, is the protected different phenological types. Is the variation name for the production of Jamaica. It is within a given variety that big or does such a called Tambor in South Africa, Topaz in Israel, variation indicate a mixture of varieties? and Mandora in Cyprus. The Clemenvilla is a hybrid of the Fina clementine and the Orlan- ADD, Trier do tangelo. The variety named Nova is marketed as Clemenvilla in Spain and as Suntina in Answer: The phenological type of citrus fruit Israel. Therefore, Ortanique and Clemenvilla is influenced by the variety as well as the envi- are interspecific hybrids that may be labelled ronment and agricultural practice. Especially “mandarins”. Alternatively, the name of the varieties belonging the group of so-called variety may be given. “easy peelers” show a big variation in shapes. As over 90 % of citrus fruit are packed in the The marketing standard for citrus fruit allows country of origin a deliberate mixture of the presentation by number of units. At the varieties should only occur occasionally and same time the standard requires that the it would make little economic sense to mix provisions concerning sizing be respected. varieties which mature at different times. What would be the maximum size deviation allowed for fruits in a package made up by The marketing standard for citrus fruit number, if the average size is 75 mm? requires the indication of the species for so- called mandarin group. In trade, Clemenvilla ConJaGO, Nürtingen or Ortanique are labelled as clementines although these varieties are hybrids. Is this type Answer: Citrus fruit packed in a net or bag for of labelling acceptable? How can species/hy- direct marketing to the consumer as well as brids of the mandarin group be determined citrus fruit packed in a bulk bin may express and what kind of labelling is required? a maximum difference in size which does ConJaGO, Nürtingen

Answer: Neither Ortanique nor Clemenvil- la are clementines. Ortanique is a Tangor variety, i.e. a hybrid of mandarins (called tangerines in the US) and oranges. Ortanique, The species of the mandarin group may be labelled as follows: Marking according to the standard Species or Variety * Species Scientific name Species Examples of varieties

Mandarin Citrus reticulate Mandarins Malvasio

Satsuma Citrus unshiu Satsumas Clausellina, Okitsu, Owari Clementines, Nules, Fina, Hernandina, Marisol, Clementine Citrus clementina Clementines with pips, Monreal, Nour, Nules, Oroval Clementines without pips Mediterranean Mediterranean mandarins Avana die Palermo, Avana di Paterno, Citrus deliciosa mandarin or mandarins Tardivo di Ciaculli Tangerine Citrus tangerine Tangerines Dancy tangerine Mandarin x Grape- Tangelo Mandarins or Tangelos Minneola, Orlando, Ugli fruit Fairchild, Le, Nova Mandarins or Tangelos Tangelo hybrids Tangelo x mandarin (= Clemenvilla, Suntina), Osceola, (hybrid) Page, Robinson Ellendale, Mrcott, Ortanique, Temple, Tangor Mandarin x orange Mandarins or Tangors Mor, Tacle, Tankan, Kyomi, Iyokan *) Exception: for clementines, the sole indication of the variety is not allowed.

© BLE, IAT- 2007 39 Discussion Forum on the “Standard Interpretation and Quality Control” not exceed three consecutive size codes. In More conservative conditions for drying the example given, this would be sizes 5 to 7, leave the kernel completely white and irrespective of whether the package is made creamy in colour. up by number or by weight of the fruit. • Sunburn; the kernels have been “dried” Participants: please indicate whether you and “roasted” on the tree. check the respect of size rules in citrus fruit • Damage caused during cracking (high existing existing rules existing rules too pressure); it is recommended to use a rules easy to too compli- complicated, not hammer and to hit the nut on the bulging apply cated, easily checked part of the shell (not on the seam!). In this mistaken case the kernel is rarely damaged and an 22 % 39 % 39 % oily appearance can be prevented.

The result of this survey will be reported to Kernels with oily appearance have to be the EC-Commission and UNECE, currently tasted one by one. Sometimes they are not discussing the amendment of the standard rancid but reveal “old taste” or “foreign taste for citrus fruit. due to oxidation”. In Class I at least 7 rancid kernels out of a reduced sample of 100 kernels Marketing Standard for Walnuts in the and in Class II at least 9 rancid kernels need to Shell be verified for rejection. Kernels with oily appearance but of normal taste are not rejected. What is the procedure to check rancidity of walnuts in the shell? A taste test of at least 100 Does it make sense to allow the marketing kernels – the reduced sample as required in of walnuts in the shell of previous harvests if the rules for inspection – seems to be unre- such lots sometimes are of very bad quality? alistic. Would it be possible to replace the taste test by the evaluation of the “oily ap- Regierungspräsidium Karlsruhe pearance” as the minimum requirement says Answer: With the exception of Class “Extra”, “free of rancidity and/or oily appearance”? it is not possible to exclude crops of previous In this case, the control is affected by the fact years from marketing. But it is absolutely ne- that cracking the nuts may cause bruises at cessary to carefully check lots from previous the kernels and that these bruises have an oily harvests in order to assess if they still meet the appearance. standard provisions. Regierungspräsidium Karlsruhe Common Market Organisation for Fruit Answer: There is no chemical method availa- and Vegetables ble to determine the percentage of rancidity in nuts. It is not possible to score for rancidity A producer organisation situated in Germa- only because of the external i.e. oily appea- ny has members based in another member rance of the kernels. state (e.g. Italy, Hungary). Does produce that is graded and packed according to the Reasons that may lead to oily appearance are marketing standard have to be labelled if it the following: is transported from the producer in Italy, for instance, to the producer organisation’s main • Stress that may not always reveal rancidi- office in Germany? According to the client’s ty. request the produce is labelled, eventually re-graded and re-packed in the producer • Accelerated drying (higher temperatures organisation’s packing house in Germany. and shorter drying time); in these cases Thus, when marketed, the produce is cor- the kernels are internally creamy white in rectly labelled. Is it possible to apply article 3 colour and their outer regions are glassy paragraph 2 of Reg. (EC) no. 2200/96 for pro- and yellowish – while taste is not necessa- duce being transported within the producer rily rancid. This appearance is frequent in produce originating in the US.

© BLE, IAT- 2007 40 Discussion Forum on the “Standard Interpretation and Quality Control” organisation (despite the fact that the trans- But in accordance with the regulation only port crosses the border between two member wilted tubers need to be out-graded. What states)? is regarded as strong browning of the vascular bundles; is its mere visibility or only very TLL, Jena strong visible browning regarded as a defect?

Answer: In accordance with article 3 para- TLL, Jena graph 2 of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 it is allowed to transport produce that is not graded Answer: Each tuber has a ring of vascular according to standard from the producer to bundles that, depending on variety and sto- the grading, packing or storage facility. This rage time, are more or less visible. This is not a would also apply to produce which is graded defect. A discolouration of the ring of vascular but not labelled in accordance with the stan- bundles (not typical for the variety) is always dard. But the exception mentioned above is restricted to the crown end. In that case, the restricted to transport within the growing ring is more visible and darker. Sometimes region. The current rules of application provi- the ring shows necrotic tissue. de that the growing region be defined within This browning of the ring of vascular bundles the borders of a member state. is regarded to be a defect if at least 25 % of the ring is discoloured. In case of very severe German National Standard for Early and symptoms, the possible infection with ring Ware Potatoes rot (Clavibacter michiganensis ssp. sepedoni- cus) or brown rot (Pseudomonas solanacea- How to evaluate silver scurf (Helminthospo- rum) has to be checked in order to respect the rium solani) in ware potatoes? Although the quarantine regulations. Working Group on Quality Control of Fruit, Vegetables and Early and Ware Potatoes There is no legal basis for sampling as a me- [Arbeitskreis Qualitätskontrolle bei Obst, Ge- ans to determine the variety or the uniformity müse und Speisekartoffeln] has published an of the variety. Do BLE or Laender inspection explanatory note saying that silver scurf is not services have any experience on whether considered a defect, many packing houses sampling as described in the Guideline on and quality inspectors do reject potatoes Quality Control of Early and Ware Potatoes affected by silver scurf. published by the Working Group on Quality Control of Fruit, Vegetables and Early and TLL, Jena Ware Potatoes [Arbeitskreis Qualitätskontrol- le bei Obst, Gemüse und Speisekartoffeln] is Answer: Silver scurf is not mentioned expli- accepted in legal proceedings? citly in the German national standard for early and ware potatoes. The guideline on ADD, Trier quality control of potatoes published by the Working Group on Quality Control of Fruit, Answer: The national regulation on early and Vegetables and Early and Ware Potatoes ware potatoes requires uniformity of vari- [Arbeitskreis Qualitätskontrolle bei Obst, ety in the lot or the package. Theoretically, Gemüse und Speisekartoffeln] says that silver it would be sufficient to take samples from scurf is one of the defects that may disappear one package only. During daily inspections by normal peeling and does not affect the and in respect of the guidelines given by the quality of the tuber. Therefore this defect is Arbeitskreis, a random bulk sample is taken neglected in conformity checks. and checked for uniformity and/or correct labelling of the variety. This method has never In trade, however, tubers affected by sil- been a problem in prosecution or summary ver scurf are increasingly considered to be proceedings. a problem. Silver scurf affects the tubers’ appearance and leads to increased transpira- During inspection at whole sale or retail level, tion. The increased losses of water lead to less offences against the national standard for turgescent tubers and to difficulties in me- early and ware potatoes have been stated. chanical peeling.

The defect – without any doubt –originated at security. The security sample is stored at cool the packing house. Where is the administra- temperatures and might be analysed in case tive offence punished if the packing house of any doubts or problems. and the wholesaler are not based in the same Land (federal state).

In accordance with § 5, paragraph 2, number 2 of the Law on National Standards, the company concerned may ask for a retain sample. Which party is concerned in this case – is it the packing house or the wholesaler (holder or produce)?

In accordance with the Guideline on Quality Control of Early and Ware Potatoes published by the Arbeitskreis Qualitätskontrolle bei Obst, Gemüse und Speisekartoffeln [Working Group on Quality Control of Fruit, Vegeta- bles and Early and Ware Potatoes], the retain samples have to be stored for 4 weeks. Are other guidelines or regulations known? How do inspection services of other Laender (federal states) handle the issue?

ADD, Trier

Answer: With respect to § 7 paragraph 1 no. 1 of the National Law on Commercial Stan- dards, a person is acting contrary to regulations if he/she markets a produce that is not in accordance with the requirements of the commercial quality standards. In this context it does not matter whether the defect has developed on the holder’s premises or at an earlier stage. In any case the holder of the produce is responsible.

The Bavarian inspection service allows one exception from this rule – namely when the mislabelling of a variety or the lack of uniformity in a variety has to be prosecuted. In these cases the packer is also prosecuted if he is based in Bavaria.

The retain sample is handed over to the holder of the produce. On request, the packer may obtain the retain sample from the holder and may run an analysis at his own costs. The whole procedure (inspection, call for comments etc.) often takes more than four weeks. Therefore, in Bavaria the retention period has been prolonged to eight weeks. Usually the Bavarian inspection service takes three samples with one of them being analysed by the inspection service, one being used as retain sample and the third one being used as a

Marketing standard for citrus fruit Hans-Georg Levin

Introduction complete lack of acid they taste “sweetish”. Sweet limes are popular in India as well as in The world production of citrus fruit was ap- the Near and Middle East and once in a while prox. 92 million tons in 1995 and increased up smallest amounts (e. g. from Iran) reach our to the year 2005 by nearly 15 % to 105 million markets. tons (FAO). Approx. 57 % thereof were oranges, 22 % mandarins, 12 % lemons, 3,5 % grape- The EC standard includes oranges (Citrus fruits and pummelos as well as 5,7 % other sinensis), also called „sweet oranges“, but no citrus fruit. While the orange production is sour or bitter oranges (Citrus aurantium), more or less stable, mandarins, lemons and which are not suited as fresh fruit but of im- other citrus fruit experienced a continuous portance for the processing industry (pulp for growth during the last ten years. Grapefruit orange marmelade, liquors, perfumes etc.). and pummelos are slightly decreasing. Occasionally, we get supplied with fresh fruit in January/February (e. g. from Italy or Iran). International citrus standards The third and most considerable kind of Three international standardisation bodies goods of the EC standard are the mandarins, are engaged with fresh citrus fruit. While the more precisely the group of mandarins, consi- „EC marketing standard for citrus fruit“ that sting of several species and their hybrids. The is obligatory for us includes three kinds of following are counted among the mandarins: goods, namely lemons, mandarins and oranges, the „UN/ECE-standard for citrus fruit“, Mandarin species representing the basis for the EC marketing Common mandarin Citrus reticulata standard, additionally covers grapefruit, Satsuma Citrus unshiu pummelos and limes (Persian). The „Codex Committee on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables“ Clementine Citrus clementina finally has elaborated sin-gle standards for Mediterranean mandarin Citrus deliciosa oranges, grapefruit, pummelos and limes Tangerine Citrus tangerina (Persian and Mexican). A species to be counted among the common Codex EC UNECE Alimentarius mandarins being of no importance for us is e. g. the large-fruited variety Ponkan having a Single Citrus fruit Citrus fruit Standards great importance in China, Japan und Brasil; or the late-ripe cultivar Malvasio from Argen- Lemons Lemons tina maturing after the Ellendale and unfor- Mandarins Mandarins tunately containing up to 20 seeds.

Oranges Oranges Oranges The satsuma is the mandarin on our markets Grapefruit Grapefruit that is ripening as the earliest. The two main producer countries are Japan and Spain, the Pummelos Pummelos produced amounts, however, decrease for Persian Limes Persian Limes years. The season in Spain starts in the middle Mexican Limes of September with the Okitsu, followed by the culti-vars Clausellina and Owari. We obtain Definition of Produce further satsuma imports from Turkey and during the summer term from South Africa, The EC standard includes lemons (Citrus Argentina and Uruguay. limon), but no sweet limes (Citrus limettio- ides), sometimes also called „sweet lemons“, The most important species within the group which at first glance are pretty similar to of mandarins is the clementine, the marke- lemons, their form, however, is more round, ting period of which lasts, due to the large they have a thin rind, and due to the almost number of cultivars, from the beginning of

October until the beginning of March. of Duncan grapefruit x Dancy tangerine. It is Main supplier countries are Spain, Morocco, supplied to Germany by at least 9 countries. Italy and Greece as well as during the summer Also the Ugli, grown on Jamaica and also de- term South Africa and South America. livered only from there from October to June, The Mediterranean mandarin with its belongs to the Tangelos. Like it is typical for strong mandarin aroma and the intensive the species, it has a thick, little dented, coarse scent of the rind oil can only occasionally be rind, which due to its tropical origin is often found on our markets in smallest amounts speckled yellow/green and often shows some from Sicily. In former times being the traditio- skin defects. With their 16 cm in diameter the nal Christmas mandarin, it has been replaced fruits are quite large; however, due to their first by the Satsuma, then by the clementine. mostly hollow center they feel relatively light. In spite of its marvelous taste the disadvan- The most common tangelo hybrid on the tages as its seed content and loose rind cha- market right now is the cultivar Nova, bred in racter preponderate. For mandarin breeding, Florida by hybridization from Fina clemen- however, it has been used very often. tine x Orlando tangelo and in trade mostly The mandarin hybrids, which can basically named Clemenvilla (from Spain) or Suntina be divided into four groups, also belong to (from Israel). the mandarins: Among the mandarins there is still a group of small-fruited mandarins that is assigned to Mandarin hybrids the species Citrus kinokuni having an importance especially in China and Japan. Also the Mandarin hybrids between Mandarin species cultivar Nanfeng Miju, which only recently Tangors Mandarin x Orange has been imported for the first time under the trade name „Cherry Orange“ from China, Tangelos Mandarin x Grapefruit belongs to this species. The characteristics Tangelo-Hybriden e. g. Clementine x Tangelo of this cultivar are the very complanate form and the fruit size ranging between 25 and An example for a hybrid between man- maximal 50 mm. The fruits of the sample had darins, namely derived from Clementine x 37–40 mm. The rind is very thin, the pulp of Dancy-Tangerine, is the late ripening cultivar an intensive orange colour, tender, very juicy Fortuna originating from California. It is of- and of sweet taste (17° Brix) with the typical fered from Spain from mid-February until the mandarin aroma. The BLE is of the opinion, beginning of May and has gained of market that with the current definition of produce significance. this fruit does not fall under the citrus standard. However, due to the fact that the fruits Also the tangors, many of them resulted from fulfil all requirements of mandarins except natural crosses between mandarin and oran- the minimum size of 45 mm, and in addition ge, gain of importance because they ripe late they are of high quality it would be reasona- and close the gaps at the end of the season. ble to think about a revision of the standard. Well known cultivars are e. g. Ellendale, Mur- cott and the Jamaican Ortanique that today is Some of the provisions of the standard are supplied by many producer countries under presented below – starting with minimum names like Topaz, Tambor, Mandora or Or- requirements: taline. A new cultivar, the Kiyomi (Miyagawa satsuma x Trovita orange) bred in Japan came Free of extensive healed-over cuts or bruising: in 2005 from South Africa onto our market. such defects are allowed within the 5 % toler- With its 7 to 10 cm in diameter the fruit is pre- ance of Class II, provided the edibility of the tty large and offers a high content of juice. fruits is not affected.

The most well known cultivar of the tangelos Sound: fruits showing a water-soaked rind, is probably the Minneola with its characte- e. g. after heavy rainfalls, are not allowed. ristic neck at the peduncle base, which was developed in Florida from the hybridization Dry damage of the skin: these defects have different causes, but they do not develop fur-

© BLE, IAT- 2007 44 Marketing standard for citrus fruit ther and are allowed within the 5 % tolerance Class II: shape defects due to the formation of Class II, provided the edibility of the fruits of a navel are allowed. Serious shape defects is not affected. or misshapen fruits are not allowed, when parts of the skin appear in the flesh due to the Defects due to degreening: especially Sat- navel. Within the mandarin group defects in sumas – the first fruits of the season – are shape are often caused by puffiness which is susceptible to defects caused by degreening. allowed. Fruits may show rough skin, but a Those defects affect the shelflife of the fruits. severe rough skin accompanied by extreme Lemons show a black calyx and a black distal thickness of the pericarp is allowed within the end. The degreening defects are allowed 10 % tolerance only. Skin defects e. g. caused within the 5 % tolerance of Class II, provided by rubbing during growth or by thrips are the edibility of the fruits is not affected. allowed. Superficial healed skin alterations such as small protuberances are allowed. Clean: fruits soiled by spores of neighbouring Thickness of the pericarp is not allowed when fruits are to be excluded without tolerance. the minimum juice content is not met; a Soiling due to sooty mould can be accepted tolerance cannot be granted. Slight superfi- within the 10 % tolerance of Class II. cial unhealed damage e. g. caused by bruises or an early damage due to degreening are Practically free from pests: Single scales are allowed within the 5 % tolerance of Class II. Up allowed. to 5 % of the Class II fruits may be soft, i. e. the albedo of those fruits is broken. Free of signs of internal shrivelling: a hollow axis is typical for the variety and not a sign of Presentation: Fruits may be presented with internal shrivelling. Fruits have to be exclu- a short (not wooden) twig with some green ded, when the skin separates from the seg- leaves. But fruits showing the wooden stalk ments and the juice sacs below the skin are only and no leaves are to be excluded. dried. A tolerance can not be granted as the edibility is affected. The internal shrivelling may have different causes: the fruits were hanging too long on the tree (by end of the season) or frost (starting at the stem-end). To check for internal shrivelling, the fruits must be cut cross-wise near the stem-end.

Damage due to frost (fruits in total or partly frozen): the defect is expressed as detached segment skins and white hesperidin crystals below the skin. To check for frost damage, cut the fruits cross-wise in the upper third and then break the fruits longitudinally.

Maturity requirements are specified by minimum requirements as regards colouring and juice content. Oranges from tropical regions may be green but not dark green provided the minimum juice content is equal to or higher than 45 %.

Extra Class: only very slight superficial skin defects are allowed.

Class I: a slight defect in shape is allowed. The formation of a navel is a characteristic typical for a large group of varieties, the navels. Slight skin defects, e. g. caused by thrips, are allowed as slight healed-over cuts.

Export control of citrus fruit from Morocco Dr. Zine El Alami

Introduction the northern hemisphere– with its sophisticated techniques and economies. For most countries along the shores of the southern Mediterranean, the food processing For its production, Morocco has embraced industry plays an import role; and Moroc- the minimum requirements of the countries co figures among the most important food of destination, so as to avoid severe sanctions exporting countries of the Mediterranean. Its from the authorities of the respective country importance for both, regional and internati- of destination. onal trade, may be explained by two things, the diversity of its export products and export The citrus fruit sector markets and by its importance as a trading partner for the EU, which, after the U.S. is the The citrus fruit sector plays a leading role for second biggest market in the world. the exportation of Moroccan foodstuffs. Co- vering a surface of approx. 75 000 ha, which With a view to its long experience with corresponds to 1.4% of arable land, or 16% of technical export control, and due to its the surface used for fruit growing, produc- concern for the constantly evolving legal tion amounts to between 1 100 000 und 1 400 situation and requirements of international 000 t. Moroccan exports amount to between trade, the government has set up the EACCE 500 000 to 600 000 t per year. (Etablissement Autonome de Contrôle et de The area under cultivation is spread as fol- Coordination des Exportations; the institute lows between the most important citrus fruit of autonomous control and co-ordination of varieties Clementines 17,790 ha, Navel 15 870 exports). Its purpose is to ensure quality con- ha, Salustiana 1 300 ha, Sanguines 3 400 ha, trol of foodstuffs at the levels of production, Ortanique 2 470 ha, MarocLate 28 100 ha, processing, preparation, storage, and export. other varieties 5 570 ha.

These controls serve the purpose of checking On average, the citrus fruit sector earns Dir- for compliance with conformity and for the ham 3 bn (approx. EUR 300 m) per year. It em- sanitary safety of the produce, while taking ploys 100 000 people, of which 70 000 work into consideration the respective guidelines in plantations, while the rest is employed by and laws, and encompass the following pro- the 60 freight stations or in pursuing other di- ducts: fresh and processed fruit and vegeta- rectly or indirectly related activities. For 8 000 bles, fresh and processed fishery products, families working in citrus fruit production, cereals, legumes, different grains and dried this represents their main source of income. herbs, oils and products derived from oil, juices and nectars derived from fruit. Main growing areas are the Souss valley and the central and eastern regions of Morocco. Only produce that stems from production At present, these have a share of 60%, 23% and establishments, establishments involved in 17% respectively in total exports for this sector. processing and preparation, and from food More than 90% of all Moroccan citrus fruit are storage facilities that have been authorized exported to the EU. by the EACCE, is licensed for export. The main countries of destination within the The food export sector, an economic and EU are France, Germany and Great Britain. In social challenge recent years, eastern European and northern American markets have gained in impor- For Morocco’s foreign trade, the export of tance–at the expense of EU markets. foodstuffs plays a major role. On a value basis, exports of foodstuffs covered almost 20% of all Varieties in Morocco exports, that is Dirham 21 bn (approx. EUR 2 bn) in 2005. Among small-fruited citrus fruit varieties More than 90% of all exports are intended for Clementines play the major role, while new

© BLE, IAT- 2007 46 Export control of citrus fruit from Morocco varieties, such as Marisol, Nour, Nova, Mus- injuries caused by grains of sand, damaged ka, Fortune, Afourer and Ortanique, which harvest containers, fruit with stalks that are mature a lot earlier and/or later, have already too long, torn out or damaged, bruising of been launched fruit inside the harvest containers, and from too high a height of fall when emptying the With oranges, the major variety is Navel for harvesting sacks. The following harvesting the early varieties; it is accompanied by its methods are practised: dry picking, one-time mutants, Washington Navel, Thomson and picking, and selective picking; the latter me- some Navel Late. Mid-season varieties are thod is mainly used for small-fruited varieties. Salustiana and Sanguine. In the case of late varieties, Maroc Late accounts for 35-40% of Degreening: Conditions for degreening are total production. Other citrus fruit varieties 2-5 ppm ethylene, 22-24°C, > 95% relative air are limes, grapefruit etc.; however, exportati- humidity, air exchange 0.5 times per hour. on of these is practically non-existent. Major problems with degreening are a) an increase in duration, due to insufficient maturi- At present the 1998/2010-action plan is put ty; insufficient air ventilation or a raised CO2 into practice, a programme for rejuvena- level, b) an increase in decay, resulting from ting the old plantations and for switching to raised levels of ethylene, prolonged degree- other varieties, and which the profession has ning, the amount of geotrichum infestation, developed in conjunction with the Ministry. damage to the skin (oleocellosis), important In the period between 1998 and 2005, this weight losses (4-5%), and a softening of fruit programme aims at rejuvenating 34 000 ha, caused by air humidity being too low. or replacing plants with new ones, i.e. 4 200 ha per year, or a production of 1 850 000 t, of Preparation: During the season 2005/2006, which 850 000 t are intended for export. 227 packing stations were in operation, of which 12 are situated in the central region, 16 How are high-quality citrus fruit produ- in the eastern region, and 20 in the Souss Val- ced? ley. During the period of time under consideration, these packing stations have exported Quality already begins at the time of flowe- a total of 542 610 t of citrus fruit. ring and is determined by the variety, rootstock, climate and the way in which planta- Post-harvest diseases: Post-harvest quality tions are managed. Whether this quality can largely depends on the packer’s ability to be main-tained or not depends largely on protect fruit against infestation with fungi. harvesting, transport, preparation and the Deterioration of horticultural produce is due way in which fruit are stored. The department to several reasons: physiological, pathologi- of horticulture at the Institute of Agriculture cal, chemical and physical ones. Frequently and Animal Production Hasan II has resear- all these reasons are inter-related. Good ched into the development of colour values, examples for this are bruising or lesions due firmness, juice content, soluble dry matter, to which microorganisms can infest fruit and acid, pH-value, and the sugar/acid ratio of can create pathological deterioration. With the Clementine varieties grown in Morocco. infected fruit, such infections often result Prior to the harvesting of each variety, the in increased respiration and ethylene pro- EACCE lays down a minimum requirement duction. Moreover, cold damage to fruit can for maturity, i.e. a sugar/acid ratio of 7 to 7.5, easily lead to mould growth or infestation depending on the season. These parameters with other pathogens. The speed with which are criteria that can be objectively measured an infection develops, as well as respiration as fruit keep maturing. and ethylene production, are direct consequences of temperature and relative air Harvest: Before harvesting begins, the fol- humidity. lowing measures must be taken: checking the condition of the equipment required for During storage of some varieties, post-harvest harvesting, of the harvest containers, and the deterioration of citrus fruit represents one cleanliness and health of workers. Problems of the biggest challenges. During short, during harvest can cause unsuitable posi- medium and long-term storage, decay can tioning of ladders; problems can result from in fact have a considerable influence on the

© BLE, IAT- 2007 47 Export control of citrus fruit from Morocco marketing of fruit and vegetables; this holds that is highly appropriate to stemming the particularly true for transport to far-away development of infections and thus to mini- markets. A product that, at the time of arri- mizing losses related to diseases in fruit. val, has several defects and/or shows signs of deterioration is either regraded or rejected, Geotrichum rot or bitter rot: In nature, Geo- which will certainly result in a disadvanta- trichum candidum is widespread wherever geous effect for marketing and the reputation citrus fruit is grown. Fruit become infected of this product, or even for the reputation of after harvest; and infection is encouraged the importer. It needs to be said that each by severe injuries that have occurred during piece of packaging that contains only a few harvest and/or handling of fruit. By means (1-3) decayed fruit forfeits 10-20% of its value, of the juice seeping from fruit infected with depending on the market. Geotrichum, healthy fruit may equally become infected as the enzymes contained in Penicillium decay spp This disease develops the juice attack the cell walls and membranes as a consequence of an injury that might have of cells. One infected fruit can therefore result been accidentally caused due to handling (a in the total loss of a whole pallet. sting of an insect or a bird, or because fruit has not been treated with sufficient care duri- Bitter rot frequently occurs during degree- ng harvest and handling). P. digitatum (blue ning. It can be responsible for considerable mould), and P. italicum (green mould) very losses, both in the degreening room and frequently occur in citrus fruit plantations during export. In the degreening room, the and can cause severe damage to citrus fruit. temperature (21-24°C) and relative air hu- Decay that is due to infection with one or the midity provide an ideal breeding ground for other of these pathogens develops during the development and spreading of the pa- cleaning, before preparation, preservation, thogens. This pathogen is a microorganism transport or storage. brought along from the fields together with dirt and other ground particles, and which In the place where the fruit is affected, it then affixes itself to harvest containers. In becomes soft, humid and slightly matt in case of severe infestation the degreening appearance. Pathogens greatly benefit from room needs to be emptied of all fruit and dis- temperatures ranging between 20-28°C. The infected before any new fruit are brought in. majority of varieties develops favourably at The same kind of thorough disinfection is also temperatures ranging between 25°C to 30°C. required for the harvesting containers and White mycelium begins to cover the area the storage rooms. infected, on top of which a powdery mass of spores appears; depending on the respective Very careful harvesting reduces the amount pathogen; it may be either blue (P. digitatum) of infestation; the same holds true for avoi- or green (P. italicum) in colour. The latter even ding, as far as possible, contamination of con- develops when storage temperatures are very tainers, fruit, and degreening rooms with dirt low (3-5°C). and soil. The degreening rooms, machines for preparation, and storage rooms must be Careful harvesting, followed by careful clean. Chemical control, immediately after preparation, considerably reduces the risk harvesting, and at the time when the fruit are of an infection with Penicillium spp. Already delivered, consists of treatment with Guaza- at the plantation and during post-harvest tine. measures, corresponding measures of hygiene need to be taken in order to minimize the Latent diseases: These diseases are caused by risks of infections with spores of penicillium. fungal pathogens that actively invade citrus Treatment preventing post-harvest damage is fruit before they mature. At the time of har- of vital importance as it helps to protect fruit vesting, these fruit may not yet show visible against infestation. symptoms of infection. Decay only becomes The most frequently applied fungicides are visible after harvest, as fruit mature. Among Benomyl, Pelt 44, Imazalil and Thiabendazol. the pathogens that damage citrus fruit in The two last-mentioned fungicides are also this way figure Phytophthora spp., Alternaria applied prior to storage or during preparati- alternata, Colletotrichum gloesporiodes etc. on. In addition to that, cooling is a measure

Phytophthora spp.: Phytophthora is of consi- ans of pre-treatment or during preparation. derable importance during periods of conti- Efficiency of these fungicides depends on the nuous rain and high humidity. Depending on pathogen and the way in which the fungi- the time of season and the variety, losses can cides are applied. The most frequently used be considerable. Phytophthora causes grey or method is spraying. Changing the agents brown dry rot. During rain-laden periods, the applied is important, so as to avoid resistance zoospores are catapulted from the ground problems. After harvesting, the control of against low and outwardly hanging fruit. The pathogens in the case of citrus fruit depends, infection may remain latent and only develop among other things, on the conditions under in the course of preparation, or in storage. which a fungicide is applied (type, dose, timing of treatment, pH of the solution, etc.) For combating phytophthora spp, prophylac- and, most important, on the hygienic condi- tic measures are suitable, such as the removal tions in the places for preparation and hand- of low-hanging fruit, or the use of props, so ling of fruit (storage room, preparation room, as to avoid ground contact; another suitable transport etc.). The most efficient methods for measure is the suspension of harvesting after combating the occurrence of diseases aim at intensive spray irrigation or heavy rainfalls. reducing the reasons leading to infections, in Treatment with chemicals should in particu- particular by avoiding injuries. lar be considered after rainfalls. In general, Aliete and Phosphites are used before and Residue control after harvesting. In 1992 already, the EACCE has introduced an Alternaria alternata: In the case of citrus fruit, index where the pre- and post-harvest sani- this disease is generally known as black rot. It tary measures are recorded, so as to be able frequently occurs with varieties where flower to trace and provide proof of the phytosani- ends are not tightly closed, i.e. Navel, Orta- tary measures taken for the different types nique, Clementine. The pathogen infests the of fruit and vegetables intended for export fruit via the stylus tissue. The first symptom (including citrus fruit); it has also encouraged to appear is a yellow-orange colouring of the and supported freight stations in compiling infected fruit, which falls off the tree, due to such a register. The phytosanitary treatments precocious ripening. It is however equally that have been carried out, active substances, possible that fruit without visible symptoms doses administered, pre-harvest waiting stay on the tree. periods, and the diseases and pests fought are entered into the register. Freight stations can In the fields A. alternata is saprophytic and thus use the register in order to get an over- can be found on dead branches and leaves; view of the pesticides used by the producers it produces numerous spores that travel affiliated to them and to monitor these. through the air into the plantations and fields. Besides being infected in the planta- At the beginning of each harvesting cam- tion, fruit that lack the calyx risk infection paign, an annual sampling plan for the during prolonged storage. In any case, black analysis of pesticide residues in is compiled. rot is diagnosed only after harvesting, during The programme is compiled for each control preparation, and sometimes only when fruit section and includes the following criteria: are consumed. There is no effective and eco- nomically acceptable way of counteracting • exports by the respective control section infections in plantations. In compliance with during the previous year the prevailing rules, after harvesting, pre- ventive measures against infection of citrus • previous results for pesticide residues fruit can be taken by means of treatment with 2.4-D or Imazalil. Treating citrus fruit with • remarks and information on the previous Benzimidazol can increase infestation with season the disease. • special measures; these are sometimes The most important ways to treat post-har- limited to certain types of fruit and vege- vest diseases: At present several fungicides tables. are used in freight stations, either as a me-

Technical conditions for accessing the EU The main task of the branches of the EACCE market abroad is to monitor trade and regulations in the most important import markets. They There is no doubt that the sector for foodstuffs provide all sorts of information to EACCE, is the one sector which, with a view to con- including technical regulations, prospective sumer protection, public health, economic exports of competitors, the situation of their interests and fair trade, is the most regulated stocks, prices realised etc. The EACCE present- in the world. In order to ensure fair commer- ly has four working branches, and three more cial terms, and to safeguard public health are being set up: Paris (FR), Perpignan (FR), against the risk of food poisoning, the majo- Dieppe (FR), Brussels (BE), Portsmouth (GB), rity of countries has, within the framework of Montreal (CA), and Saint Petersburg (RU). its legislation, made regulations and adopted provisions laying down the requirements for The EACCE’ success regarding export is pro- quality control, sanitary and phytosanitary ven by the recognition it gets abroad: control for agricultural produce and foodstuffs. • In 2002 it has been approved by the EU for its conformity checks in the case of fruit This legislation applies to both, the produce and vegetables; and the preparation and processing enterprises, as well as to the official control of food- • Member of the OECD Scheme for the stuffs. Concerning this very matter, the EU Application of international standards for has fitted itself out with a regulatory basket fruit and vegetables since 2004; that – in the course of time – has undergone numerous amendments. The EU regulations • United Nations Civil Services Award; presently in force are of a compulsory na- • Laboratories in Casablanca and Agadir ture where quality standards for products, have gained approval for pesticides, conformity of producers of foodstuffs, the fatty matter, and non-alcoholic beve- maximum residue of pesticides permitted, rages by the COFRAC (Comité Français food additives, recognition of official control d’Accréditation, French Accreditation bodies of third countries, and conformity con- Committee); trols at the moment of export of Community produce are concerned. A • Multifold international support by DG- CCRF, GTZ, USAID etc. for the EACCE’s rticle 8 of the Common Market Organization projects; for Fruit and Vegetables stipulates “produce for which standards have been established • Research done upon request of the Codex may only be imported from third countries, Alimentarius Committee (TBZ in citrus if they comply with these standards or with fruit, dithiocarbamate in capers, heavy standards that are at least equivalent to metals accumulation in tomatoes). these.” The Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Marine Fishery has entru- The main tasks of the EACCE are sted the EACCE with the task of ensuring that Moroccan foodstuffs intended for export are • to ensure that Moroccan foodstuffs inten- in conformity with international markets. ded for export are in conformity with the provisions of the international markets Organization and tasks of the EACCE and comply with binding regulations on the protection of human health; The EACCE and its regional offices (21 control offices, 5 existing laboratories, 2 more are • to judiciously coordinate export activities being set up) have set up on-the-spot controls coming under its technical control; for the benefit of the sector as a whole. This system ensures that problems can be dealt • to encourage and support private en- with directly and simplifies procedures. The trepreneurs in their efforts to improve system includes physical checks, both in quality, by adapting to the requirements freight stations and in processing enterprises, and provisions, this is also done through as well as in ports and airports. propagating the standards and require-

ments with regard to quality, sanitary the EACCE has mobilised all its forces, for safety of foodstuffs, and new production accomplishing their implementation effici- and preparation techniques. ently, speedily and smoothly.

• Controls are exercised throughout the In 2006, the EACCE has assessed the level preparation of produce, starting from obtained for the retraceability system of fresh the moment when produce arrives at the produce in the case of freight stations. Results freight station/factory/establishment, and from this survey show that 72% of freight sta- leading up to the moment of export. tions guarantee retraceability; i.e. more than 90 % of exports are recorded. Within the framework of technical control the EACCE has been given the task of ap- Besides the system for retraceability, freight proving production establishments, freight stations have also introduced systems of stations, and stores whose production is self-monitoring such as ISO 22000, HACCP intended for export, and that comply with the and BRC. According to a poll conducted in respective official Moroccan provision. 2005/2006 it can be stated that 30% of freight stations for citrus fruit, representing 52% of The EACCE is the nucleus of official monito- total exports, are certified. Only 21% of freight ring and, in this context, collects information stations for early vegetables are certified, on other countries’ requirements and on the however, these represent 46% of total exports. most important markets all over the world. These results show that stations turning over The EACCE then puts these findings at the large quantities do already apply quality assu- disposal of exporters of foodstuffs so that rance systems. these can adjust to market requirements. The information is dissipated to the regional The EACCE has 6 laboratories that are spread offices, professionals, and staff via the EACCE over the country: 1 microbiological labo- website (www.eacce.org.ma) and its electro- ratory in Casablanca, 4 physical-chemical nic information bulletin. laboratories in Casablanca, Agadir, Berkane and Marrakesh, 1 laboratory for packaging in The EACCE ensures mentoring and support Casablanca. of exporters and encourages them to equip themselves with the means necessary for All physical-chemical laboratories have an maintaining quality during the different own department for the analysis of pesticide stages, starting from the moment of arrival of residues. These laboratories are equipped fresh produce, through preparation, grading, with qualified staff and cutting-edge ana- processing, and up to the moment of delivery lytical apparatus, e.g. gas chromatography, to the consumer. gas-liquid chromatography, and mass spectrometry, which allow for obtaining reliable Among the measures introduced by the EAC- and exact results in a minimum of time. These CE with a view to regulation (EG) No. 178/2002 laboratories work according to international on retraceability, figure information mee- methods or, in case of so-called “multiresi- tings for producers, exporters and professio- dues”, according to internal validated me- nal associations. thods that permit for systematic research into several active substances. EACCE laboratories Since January 1, 2005, retraceability, which moreover also take part in international initially was not more than a simple and comparative tests organized by the Bureau voluntary agreement between customers and Interprofessionnel d’Études Analytiques suppliers, has become a publicly ordained BIPEA (Bureau for interprofessional analytical obligation within the EU. Entrepreneurs have studies). by now understood that, in compliance with the regulation mentioned, they must be able With a view to the envisaged regionaliza- to retrace the path their produce has taken. tion of branches, and thus approximation to export regions, and to the growing number In order for all Moroccan enterprises to take of exporters, the EACCE makes a point of its the necessary measures in order to achieve programme to set up a laboratory in each of compliance with the European regulation, the country’s regions. In this context 2 new

The EACCE laboratories have set up a quality management system that is in compliance with ISO 17025/2005 standard. The standard ensures the laboratories’ technical competence and verifies exactitude of data, validation of methods and training of staff. ISO 17025 also extends to aspects of managing laboratories, recording of samples, and to compiling the report, without neglecting filing of data and customer satisfaction.

In June 2006 laboratories in Casablanca and Agadir have successfully undergone accreditation by COFRAC for their departments for “residue analytics”, fatty matter and “non- alcoholic beverages”. Due to the multilateral agreements signed by COFRAC, accreditation by the latter allows for international recognition.

Citrus Production and Exports in South Africa – A Quality Management Perspective Cyril Julius

Introduction consumed as fresh fruit. Exports account for 81% of the total value of production. The initial development of the fresh fruit production and export industry in South Production Africa (SA) dates back to the mid-seventeenth century. Dutch settlers planted fruit trees in Citrus fruit is produced worldwide mainly the Cape to provide fresh produce for ships in the subtropical regions situated in a lati- passing SA on their way to the East Indies. tudinal band lying roughly between 20° to Exports to the United Kingdom (UK), the 40° north and south of the equator, and in Netherlands and other parts of Europe first areas with a well-defined, cold induced eco- took off at the beginning of the 19th century. dormancy period. Additionally the winters This was facilitated by a technological bre- should be almost frost free. Climate is the akthrough in refrigeration in America, which main factor determining citrus yields or pro- enabled ships to transport fresh meat and duction. produce that could be kept cool during long In South Africa the climate varies from the sea voyages. summer rainfall subtropics in the north to a Mediterranean-type climate with winter SA is generally regarded as a country of rainfall in the Western Cape. This enables the extremes in terms of its climate and topogra- production of a wide range of citrus types phy. The variability in rainfall, temperature throughout the country, and also ensures the and soil types makes it difficult to farm effec- provision of fresh fruit over a long season. tively and produce optimum yields of high Production in SA is mainly aimed at the quality. Despite the limitations in climatic export market and the correct cultivar must and physical conditions, a diversity of agri- therefore be planted in the best climatically cultural products are effectively produced suited area in order to produce good quality and even exported. In fact, in the southern fruit for export. In SA there are approximately hemisphere, SA sets the example with the 1480 citrus production units (farms) totalling development of their strong export industry just over 57 000 hectares. particularly in citrus. The South African citrus industry was establis- Valencia and Navel oranges are by far the hed in the early 1800s. According to records most popular citrus types planted in SA, the first consignment of South African ci- followed by Grapefruit, Soft Citrus (Mandar- trus fruit were exported in 1907 to England. ins, so-called easy peelers) and Lemons. The However, it was not until 1926, with the most important production areas are in the founding of the South African Co-operative Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga Citrus Exchange, that the industry started and Limpopo provinces. Also of interest, is the realizing its enormous potential in the export geographical distribution of the citrus types. market. Presently, SA is the second largest In the case of Valencia oranges cultivation is exporter of citrus fruit in the world, surpassed mostly centered in the Eastern Cape, Limpopo only by Spain. In 2005, the SA citrus industry and Mpumalanga Provinces while the cultiva- exported 1.2 million pallets of citrus to more tion of Navel oranges, Lemons, and Soft citrus than 60 countries with a gross value of ZAR are favoured in the cooler areas of the Eastern 2.5 billion. The industry is expected to export and Western Cape. Grapefruit varieties, on more than 100 million cartons of citrus by the the other hand are mostly planted in the hot year 2010. humid areas of Mpumalanga and Kwa-Zulu Natal. Citrus fruit is produced on 1480 production units or farms and is packed at 350 pack The average yield per hectare per citrus type houses throughout the country. On average is: lemons 55t/ha, soft citrus fruit 4550t/ha, 54 % of the total citrus fruit production is oranges 40-50t/ha, grapefruit 40-50t/ha. exported, 25% is processed and 21% is locally

Grapefruit is divided into three export and importing countries. Fruit exported from groups based on colour, namely red, white SA must comply with local as well as internati- and pink grapefruit. The main cultivars that onally determined MRLs. correspond with those colours are Star Ruby (red), White Marsh Seedless (white) and Rosé/ New plantings are mostly of the Valencia, Ruby Red (pink). In 2006 the major market de- Navel and Grapefruit varieties followed by stinations for South African grapefruit were Soft citrus. New plantings of the latter consist the Far East, Northern and Southern Europe mostly of Mandarins and Clementines. In and the United Kingdom. Star Ruby is the general new plantings are heavily influenced most popularly exported grapefruit followed and dictated to by consumer preferences as by White Marsh and Rosé. well as requirements of the import markets. The South African crop projection model There are a number of lemon cultivars, but (administered by the Citrus Growers’ Asso- Eureka is by far the best known throughout ciation) estimates that future plantings will South African lemon orchards. The Sundays consist mainly of Valencia and Navel varieties River Valley in the Eastern Cape produces followed to a lesser extent by Lemons and most of the country’s export lemons. The Clementines. main destinations are the Middle East and Europe. From a worldwide perspective SA is a Harvesting relatively small exporter of lemons. Citrus calendar: Different citrus fruit types Soft citrus, also known as easy peelers or and the cultivars represented in each type mandarins is mainly grown in the Mediter- mature at different times of the year. The ranean climatic regions (i.e. the Western specific time also depends on the climate in and Eastern Cape). The most well-known the various production regions (fruit in the cultivars are Clementine, Satsuma, Nova and northern production regions ripen earlier Minneola. Most of South Africa’s soft citrus than in the south), and on the climatic condi- are exported to the UK, with smaller volumes tions that prevail in a particular season. Cli- finding their way to the USA and Northern matic conditions can result in fruit achieving Europe. optimum maturity more than three weeks earlier or later than usual. In the fruit indus- Many orange cultivars are produced in SA. try one would speak of an early, late or nor- Generally, the industry refers to Navels and mal season. The normal time in which South Valencias and a third group called the Mid- African fruit is available in the export markets seasons. The first winter oranges off the trees is outlined in the citrus fruit calendar below. are the Navels. One of the more popular navel One should bear in mind that fruit arrives in cultivars is the Navel Late which ripens later the import markets on average three weeks than most of the other Navel cultivars. The after it has been harvested (depending on the Mid-season group, which is the next to be proximity of the markets and the phytosani- harvested, is dominated by the Protea and tary treatments that may be required) and Tomango cultivars. Valencias are named after that a number of cultivars are represented in the Valencia Province in Spain. Oranges are each of the citrus types listed in the calendar. mainly exported to Northern Europe, the Far These cultivars are harvested at different East and Middle East with smaller volumes times which “stretch” the South African citrus finding their way to the UK and North Ameri- season, enabling exporters to supply the mar- ca. ket with high quality fruit for a relatively long Agricultural chemicals are applied to fruit period. The search for even earlier and later trees for a host of reasons, mostly to protect maturing cultivars is an ongoing process. the fruit from being destroyed by insects and The South African citrus season usually starts various types of fungus. Sometimes “chemical around week 12 (in March) and ends in week remains” are found on the fruit once it has 43 (in October): been picked, washed and packed for export. In order to protect consumers Maximum • Lemons are produced in relatively small Residue Limits (MRLs) has been set for each quantities almost all year round as lemon chemical on each fruit type by South Africa trees bear two crops a year.

• Soft citrus “starts” the citrus season and sing impression, which must be backed by full peaks around weeks 19, 20 and 21. flavour. However, fruit that is internally mature may • Grapefruit is harvested from week 16 to 34 not yet be well coloured up at times. Appro- with volumes peaking in weeks 21, 22 and priate storage and shipping temperatures 23. can be used to improve skin colour. Colour development can also be boosted by applying • Oranges (mainly Valencia and Navel an ethylene-based treatment after it has been cultivars) dominate the citrus scene from harvested. This process is called de-greening about week 18 to 42, peaking in weeks 28 and is carried out by placing fruit in chambers to 34. with closely controlled temperature, humidity and CO2 levels and by pumping a pre- Maturity indexing: The process of determi- determined concentration of ethylene gas ning when fruit is ready to be picked is known into it. It is important to note that, although as maturity indexing. Orchards are divided de-greening may be useful in enhancing into blocks and a certain number of fruit units fruit colour, it will not improve the flavour of are selected per block for sampling which immature fruit. Citrus fruit is non-climacteric normally commences three to four weeks and will not ripen if picked prematurely. before the fruit is expected to mature. Fruit acid content, sugar levels (°Brix) as well as co- Internal quality: Growing concerns globally lour is tested against officially prescribed and about obesity have led to widespread promo- promulgated standards. Sugar levels are only tion of fresh fruit as the healthy alternative to determined with calibrated refractometers as chocolate and other condiments. Sweetness these instruments are also used by receivers and tastiness are therefore part and parcel of in the import markets. The use of hydrome- the pleasurable fruit-eating experience. The ters was phased out in 2004. total soluble solids (measured as °Brix) in the fruit provides the sweet flavour, and a good The maturity level at which fruit is harvested balance between TSS and fruit acid levels con- has an effect on the taste and keeping qua- tribute to the taste. While acid levels that are lity of the fruit when it arrives in the import too high give fruit a sour or sharp flavour, acid markets. This also impacts on whether the levels that are too low have a negative effect appearance and taste of the fruit is such that on the keeping quality of the fruit and lead consumers are prepared to buy and to pay to a bland taste. Over the years South Africa premium prices for it. Today’s consumers developed its own minimum internal quality are very discerning and expect that fruit be standards which are compulsory for all citrus picked at optimal maturity levels. From a gro- consignments destined for export. wer and exporter’s perspective the optimal combination is the highest possible quality Picking: Previously it was considered ac- and best taste with the longest shelf life. ceptable (and cost effective) to have pickers go into an orchard and pick (strip) all the The longer fruit is left on a tree after it has fruit on the trees in that particular area. The matured internally, the shorter it’s keeping or increasingly stringent market requirements shelf life will be. Fruit should thus be picked in terms of quality and taste have, however, during its optimum maturity “window”. resulted in harvesting teams now picking Fruit maturity is a combination of external fruit according to a specific maturity, size or factors (e.g. skin colour) and internal factors colour level per citrus fruit type. They there- (e.g. °Brix, acid levels). fore may return to an orchard two or three At a certain level of physiological develop- times to select fruit of the appropriate quality ment, fruit reaches optimum eating quality and maturity. While this may appear to be and visual appeal. a labour intensive and expensive exercise, it results in optimal quality in the fruit that is External maturity indicators: The saying harvested, and thus in a higher overall export that consumers buy with their eyes is very packout per orchard. This, in turn, translates true. The first test is richness in colour, even- into better returns for the grower as well. ness of colour and a blemish-free appearance. This creates an attractive and positive purcha-

Packing, Grading and Packaging water which is essential to maintain fruit quality and to prevent disorders that may occur The layout, machinery and packing process when the fruit is stored. differs according to the size and sophisti- Only post-harvest compounds that are ap- cation of the pack house. However, fruit proved for use on the different citrus types in entering the pack house have already been SA and the importing country may be used tested in the orchard to ensure that it meets and the manufacturer’s usage instructions the prescribed maturity and internal quality are followed to the letter to ensure that the standards. Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) set by each market are not exceeded. Pre-sorting: Ultra small and very large fruit sizes are removed as soon as possible. By MRLs change from time to time so pack doing so, pack house capacity is utilised more houses must ensure that they have the latest effectively and material and labour costs are information at hand, otherwise fruit can be reduced further along the packing line. Pre- rejected. Post harvest treatments are also in- sorting is done by hand or by using optical dicated on citrus cartons in accordance with sizers (electronic ‘eyes’ that read the dimen- EC marketing standards. sions of the fruit and signal the conveyor belt to transfer that fruit to another line leading to Second drying: The fruit is dried again in the factory fruit bin). order to apply the wax evenly and effectively.

Washing: Before fruit can be packed, it Wax applications: A thin layer of wax is ap- must be washed and cleaned with brushes to plied to the surface of citrus fruit to protect it remove any dust or dirt that may have accu- from moisture loss and decay. Wax also gives mulated on the fruit skins in the orchard or the fruit surface a light sheen, which makes it en route to the pack house. This enhances the look more attractive. appearance of the fruit and makes it easier to apply wax on the fruit. Third drying: The waxed fruit passes through a tunnel in which the wax is dried. First drying: After washing, fruit moves It is important that the equipment dries the through a drying unit. In the first instance, entire surface of the fruit so that wet wax excess water on the fruit can dilute the con- is not rubbed off after the fruit has left the centration of post-harvest treatments that are tunnel. applied further along the line. Secondly, the risk of fungal growth development is higher Grading is based on a number of factors that in wet fruit. Drying is done by means of fans include colour, blemishes (e.g. wind scarring) or high velocity jets of air that forcefully blow and size. The nuances between Class 1 and the water off the surface of the fruit. Class 2 fruit are often subtle. Grader training and concentration is therefore critical. At Pre-grading: A typical orchard yields fruit the start of each season all grading staff are of all classes, ranging from Extra Class to trained again on the defects and tolerances Industrial quality fruit. Pre-grading staff allowed for the different classes. In some carefully examine fruit as it moves along instances the Perishable Products Export Con- conveyor belts, removing damaged, very trol Board (PPECB) is requested to conduct the poorly coloured and unattractive fruit. The training. Colour charts that demonstrate the cost-saving and capacity benefits are similar acceptable as well as unacceptable quality to those for pre-sorting. Good lighting as well standards are displayed prominently in the as optimum conveyor belt speed is essenti- grading area. Additionally, grading staff are al. The speed at which fruit moves past the also tested for colour blindness. pre-graders must enable them to effectively evaluate the appearance of the fruit. Sizing is vital for three reasons. Firstly, buyers order fruit volumes according to specific Post Harvest Treatments: By this stage, only counts. The price they pay is also related to fruit that will be consumed as a fresh fruit the size of the fruit, with certain counts ob- should remain on the line. The fruit is im- taining a higher price than others. Secondly, mersed in a solution of fungicides mixed with fruit size is related to the volume and mass of

© BLE, IAT- 2007 56 Citrus Production and Exports in South Africa – A Quality Management Perspective the fruit. The size and volume of the fruit de- garded and re-packed into smaller consumer termines how many units are packed in a car- packages in the importing country. ton and the number of layers in that carton. Thirdly, fruit units of similar size usually have Quality requirements a similar mass. Packing uniform sizes make it easier to achieve the correct carton mass. Fruit quality is generally determined in three ways. The visual quality is simply a cosmetic A count refers to the “size” of the fruit. Its issue – the fruit’s appearance is a composite origin was derived from the number of fruit of colour, size, shape and other minor factors. units that could fit into a standard-sized ex- What is not easy to determine from looking port carton. For example, in the case of large at the fruit is the internal quality of the fruit. grapefruit, one could only pack up to 32 units Each fruit has its optimum internal quality in a carton (32 was thus the count allocated to specifications for the best eating experience. that grapefruit size. If the grapefruit was very In other words, the sugar and acid levels have small, packers could place up to 56 grapefruit a profound effect on the taste of the fruit units in a carton (such grapefruit was then and these can only be measured using sci- called “count 56”). entific methods. The third and most difficult of the fruit quality definitions is perceived Fruit Labelling: Some buyers, mainly su- quality. When one considers the changing permarkets require that individual fruit be preferences of the consumer, understanding labelled with Price Look Up codes (PLUs). This quality is an eternal challenge. make it easier on checkout processes in the supermarket but also facilitates traceability If for some reason, an eating experience does to a certain extent as the product identifica- not match up to a consumer’s expectation, tion, exporter logo as well as the pricing in- he or she labels the fruit as “poor quality”. formation is included in the (tiny) fruit sticker. Quality perceptions vary from country to country, from supermarket to supermarket, Packing: In SA most fruit is packed by hand. from buyer to buyer, from product to product Some mechanical packing machines are used and from consumer to consumer. Perceived to pack fruit but not for fruit that must be quality is in fact, a moving target. What may wrapped individually. A single count size is be acceptable this year may not be acceptable packed at one packing station to avoid mixed next year. If anything, the quality standards counts being packed and packers know demanded by increasingly discerning buyers exactly how many fruit units must be placed and retailers are getting tougher and tougher in each carton. It also eliminates errors if fruit year on year. stickers with PLUs are affixed by hand or by hand-held machinery. It must be noted that, in as much as poor fruit quality can make fruit unacceptable to the re- Packaging: For many years mainly the 15 kg ceiver, so can poor fruit condition. Poor condi- ‘telescopic’ cartons (a carton covered with tion of fruit on arrival in the export markets a lid also made of corrugated board) were is either the result of inherent weaknesses in used for citrus exports from SA. Today these the fruit that were not known at the time of telescopic cartons are still faithfully serving packing and inspection, or mismanagement the industry but various other configurations of the fruit in the cold chain. have evolved based mainly on changes in market requirements. These include open South African Quality Export Standards: top or display cartons that can be placed, with The inspection control process starts at the the fruit still neatly and attractively packed, source of packing. This is a statutory process directly on shop shelves as well as inter- with the PPECB currently being the only offi- stackable cartons. cially designated inspection body under the Another type of packaging that is very popu- Agricultural Product Standards Act (Act 119 of lar today is bulk bins which are also available 1990). South Africa is situated a minimum of in a variety of configurations. Class I, Class II 14 days by sea from its nearest major market. as well as fruit intended for industrial proces- As a result there is a risk of the fruit deterio- sing are exported by way of bulk bins. Class rating during these voyages. It has therefore I and Class II fruit in bulk bins are usually re- been necessary to adopt strict South African

© BLE, IAT- 2007 57 Citrus Production and Exports in South Africa – A Quality Management Perspective export regulations with regard to fruit qua- standards. These higher standards are usually lity standards. In order to ensure that South based on the requirements of retailers (e.g. African fruit stands the best chance of being Tesco) and importers or buyers in the import enjoyed as “safe and good-to-eat quality” fruit market and are applied by the PPECB at no in the import markets, a set of compulsory extra cost to the exporter. minimum quality standards has been deve- Maximum Residue Limit monitoring pro- loped by the SA Department of Agriculture gramme: MRLs form part of the Sanitary and in conjunction with the PPECB and various Phytosanitary (SPS) regulations agreed upon industry stakeholders. between trading countries. In SA, the Depart- Every citrus fruit type has a minimum, speci- ment of Health with inputs from the Depart- fic benchmark against which it is measured ment of Agriculture is responsible for the before it can leave the country. Inspection government to government liaison regarding methods including sampling procedures and these regulations and for the establishment tolerances are prescribed in order to ensure of MRLs. The drawing of samples and audi- uniform interpretation and application of ting of MRLs is delegated by the Department the standards. Requirements are generally of Agriculture to PPECB. However analyses stricter than the internationally accepted are done in government laboratories and UNECE standards. These quality standards are results are relayed to the PPECB who will then updated annually and are promulgated in prevent fruit from being exported if MRLs are the Government Gazette to make the applica- exceeded. tion thereof compulsory. In addition it is also Inspection procedures at quality control published on the website of the Department points: PPECB personnel responsible for of Agriculture at www.nda.agric.za. quality inspections are all formally qualified There are quality standards for four diffe- and undergo intensive assessments before rent classes of fruit namely Extra Class, Class the start of each fruit season to ensure that 1, Class 2 and Fruit for Processing Purposes inspectors are up to date with the latest (Industrial quality). Quality factors consi- standards. In addition, harmonisation work- dered are fruit appearance, shape, colour, shops are held at the beginning of the season blemishing, size, internal quality and skin to ensure that all inspectors throughout the defects. Visual aids (called colour prints) have country interpret the standards in the same been developed to assist inspectors to evalua- way to ensure the uniform application the- te external defects during inspections. These reof. This is important in supplying markets are also used by pack houses during grading with consistent quality. of the fruit. Note that no differentiation is Arrangements for inspections are made well made between conventionally and organical- in advance of the season between the pack ly produced fruit. house or intake depot and PPECB. Inspections Other factors that are also considered are: are done by way of end point inspections on a pallet basis. More than ninety percent of the • Packaging material (suitability and citrus export crop is inspected at pack house strength) or farm level while the remainder is inspected at depots and terminals in the load ports. • Packing methods (pattern, jumble) All citrus fruit destined for export must be • Marking on packaging including tracea- submitted for inspection prior to export. bility After the product have been inspected and approved for export, the export certification • Stacking of cartons on pallets process comes into force according to the EC 1148 certification system as a documented • Maximum residue limits validation of export. The product is marked with an official PPECB “Passed for Export” Exporter protocols: Some exporters use hig- sticker as well as the personnel number of the her quality standards and specifications than inspector that conducted the inspection. what is prescribed in the minimum export

To further ensure fruit quality re-inspections The food safety standard requires on-farm are carried out on fruit that is still in the coun- FBOs to comply with GAP (Good Agricultural try after a certain period of time from the Practice) and hygiene, and off-farm FBOs to date of PPECB inspection. These inspections also comply with GMP (Good Manufacturing are normally performed in the loading ports Practices), GDP (Good Distribution Practices) (harbours) after 28 days in the case of hard and HACCP (“Hazard Analysis and Critical citrus and 21 days in the case of soft citrus. Re- Control Point”) principles. inspections focus especially on physiological FBOs with a valid commercial certification defects and fruit not conforming are rejected (Eurepgap, Nature’s Choice, HACCP, and BRC for export. (British Retail Consortium)) are regarding as a low risk, and will temporarily not be audited Quality management systems: A Product under this system. Quality Management System which is an au- It is estimated that 70 percent of South Afri- dit based inspection system is currently being can citrus growers have a commercial cer- investigated by the SA Department of Agricul- tification with regard to good agricultural ture, PPECB and industry bodies as an additio- practices. The remaining 30% must at least nal service to end-point inspection. However, comply with the requirements of R707. end-point inspection currently remains as the only means of official quality assurance. To facilitate continued compliance to interna- It must be noted that quality management tional food safety requirements, the Depart- systems are widely used by citrus packhouses ment of Agriculture established a national in SA as a means of quality assurance. food safety forum, which meets quarterly to discuss and review these standards for rele- Food Safety requirements vance and compliance with international standards. In addition, an MRL Task group In 2002, the European Union (EU) promul- was also established under the auspices of the gated the EU Food Law (EC 178/2002), requi- Department of Agriculture with the following ring all imports to the EU to comply with EC objectives: 852/2204 – Hygiene of foodstuffs. South Africa responded to this by promulgating the R707 • Pursuing food safety (MRL - Maximum – Standards regarding food safety and food Residue Limit) and related market access hygiene of regulated agricultural products issues on behalf of the South African In- of plant origin intended for export, under dustries, by: the APS Act 119 of 1990 on 13 May 2005. This standard includes all EU requirements, and in 1. Monitoring new MRLs emanating from addition extends the scope from only imports trading partners to the EU, to all destination countries. Accor- ding to this standard, all primary producers, 2. Determining the level of compliance of the packhouses on-farm and off-farm, proces- local industry sors, cold storage facilities, container depots, transporters, and terminals that handles 3. Determining use of alternative agricultural agricultural product of plant origin destined practice or chemical; for export – also named Food Business Opera- • Coordinating the establishment and tors (FBOs), must comply with minimum food maintenance of a MRL database by effec- safety and hygiene standards. In SA, FBOs that tively communicating and making contri- do not comply with this standard will by def- butions to the database; ault not qualify to export their product, until compliance could be reached.In order to faci- • Dealing with matters pertaining to food litate and enhance traceability, all FBOs must safety compliance and co-ordination of register with the Department of Agriculture, export programmes, including recom- to obtain a valid FBO code. Information linked mending further actions that might need to the FBO can be viewed on the Department to be taken by government; of Agriculture website. This website is also used by the PPECB to schedule and conduct • Considering residue analysis issues (in- food safety audits. cluding agrochemicals and heavy metals)

and assessing the availability of suitable the production of ethylene (ripening hor- methods of analysis; and mone) is also impaired and the outcome is delayed ripening of the product. Citrus like • Identifying and managing problems rela- other fruit types are sensitive to low tempe- ted to the above. ratures and the utmost care must be taken that they are not cooled below their chilling EurepGAP is by far the most popular followed threshold. Once the fruit has been cooled, by Nature’s Choice and BRC. These certifi- the “cold chain” has started and care must be cations are required by most retailers in the taken to keep the fruit as near as possible to UK as well as the European continent and its optimum temperature in order to ensure although they are expensive they have had a product quality throughout the supply chain. positive effect on pesticide usage. Historically, the use of pesticides by South African citrus Optimum storage conditions and tempera- growers was high. However, the increasing tures may vary between growing and clima- demands of trading partners (e.g. EurepGAP, tical conditions as well as specific procedures MRLs) caused the use of agrochemicals to and market requirements. For this reason ex- diminish. In addition most growers make use, tensive basic and applied research was done to varying degrees, of Integrated Pest Ma- over decades to develop optimum storage nagement (IPM) since few markets will accept and transport conditions for South African non-IPM produced fruit. produced fresh produce. The following is a brief summary of the requirements for the The following are responsibilities of exporters different citrus types. and producers with regard to residue limits: Grapefruit: The storage and transport tem- • Comply with the requirements on the perature for Grapefruit varies between 16 °C correct, approved use and application of to 8.5 °C. The following criteria are used to pesticide remedies in terms of South Af- decide on the transport temperature: rican legislation (Fertilizers, Farm Feeds, Agricultural Remedies and Stock Reme- Early season fruit still requiring external skin dies Act, Act no. 36 of 1947); colouration – store and ship at 16 °C. Opti- mum storage temperature of well coloured • Keep record of all the chemical remedies fruit - store and ship at 10 °C. used in spray programmes and as post- harvest treatment and to provide this Lemons: The storage and transport tempe- information on request to the responsible rature for Lemons varies between 10 °C to 7.0 authorities; °C. The warmer temperature of 10 °C is used at the beginning of the season to enhance • Verify the MRL’s with their importer or colour development. The optimum shipping agent in the importing country; temperature is 7.0 °C. • Keep up with the registration, re-regis- Oranges store best at a pulp temperature tration and de-registration processes of of 4.5 °C. Early season oranges can be stored pesticides within SA as well as in impor- and transported at 11 °C to enhance external ting countries; and colour development. Prompt cooling soon • Inform the Department of Agriculture after harvest should be applied and optimum (Department of Agriculture) of any rejec- pulp temperatures should be reached within tions by importing country authorities 6 days from harvest. This applies especially to due to pesticides. the more sensitive Washington Navel cultivars. Fruit quality through temperature ma- Soft citrus: Fruit of these cultivars are very nagement delicate in texture and flavour and are more Cold storage conditions: Fresh fruits are li- temperature sensitive than other citrus types. ving organisms and must therefore be cooled Cooling to 3.5 °C as soon as possible after to lower their respiration rate. In doing this harvest and maintenance of the cold chain throughout is very important to maintain

© BLE, IAT- 2007 60 Citrus Production and Exports in South Africa – A Quality Management Perspective quality. Soft citrus are sometimes kept at 11.0 equivalent cartons by the year 2010, which is °C for relatively short periods to stimulate 44% up from the 69,5m exported in 2006. colour development should it be required. The European Union remains SA’s biggest Handling protocols: PPECB is also officially importer of citrus followed by the Middle mandated under the Perishable Products East (mainly the United Arab Emirates and Export Control Act (Act 9 of 1983) to ensure Iran). In 2006 about 46% of South African the “orderly and efficient export of perishable citrus found its way to the UK and the Euro- products from South Africa”. This mainly in- pean continent and 22% were exported to the volves the control of the cold chain including Middle East. the shipping process. A number of post-harvest handling proto- Institutions responsible for food safety cols for perishable products were developed and quality control locally to ensure product quality throughout the supply chain. These are available on the All institutions in the fresh produce export PPECB website www.ppecb.com and reflect supply chain have a certain set of roles and re- standard operating procedures approved by sponsibilities towards quality and food safety. industry and the PPECB. These protocols co- The objectives of these roles and responsibili- ver conditions (temperature, ventilation, etc.) ties are to ensure that: under which a specific product or product group must be exported. • The consumer’s requirements and expectations in relation to product quality and Shipping modes: Citrus fruit is only exported food safety are met; by sea from SA by way of conventional or containerised shipping. Simply explained, the • Export produce of South African origin difference between containerised and con- complies with the requirements of the ventional (also known as break bulk shipping) import markets (i.e. governments, impor- is that a container can accommodate small ters, retailers); lots of 10, 20 or 23 pallets of fruit with its own unique temperature regime and delivery • Only PPECB-approved export produce (of address, whereas a conventional vessel (also South African origin) is exported from SA; known as a reefer ship) consist of a number • The equipment used to store and trans- of small cold rooms which can accommodate port export produce of South African anything from 140 to 400 pallets per cold origin is technically sound and functio- room. nal; and These cold rooms have the ability to refrige- rate fruit whereas containers are designed to • The export cold chain is maintained. maintain fruit temperatures. Containerised shipping therefore requires much more dis- Responsibilities of Citrus exporters: Ex- cipline in ensuring that fruit is on tempera- porters are responsible for ensuring that the ture prior to it being loaded into a container. products that they supply to the market meet The growth in container usage as a shipping the requirements of the buyers (i.e. importers mode for South African citrus increased or retailers), as well as the minimum regula- steadily over the years and in 2006 it equalled tory requirements of the importing counties conventional shipping. It is foreseen that up (i.e. market access requirements). Exporters to 70% of citrus will eventually be exported by are also responsible for managing and co- way of containers. ordinating the export supply chain from farm to fork. Exporters’ quality requirements Citrus volumes and market distribution are usually specified in the form of detailed packing guides that state the following: pro- From the figure below, it can be seen that duct specification, packaging specification, South African citrus exports grew steadily sin- palletising specifications. These guides are ce 2000. Oranges and Lemons, to a lesser ex- then strictly implemented by growers and tent, were responsible for most of the growth. packers to ensure that the right specifications This trend will continue and it is estimated are packed for the right market. that citrus exports will reach 100 million 15kg

Responsibilities of Citrus Producers: In SA the Southern African Citrus Producers’ Orga- nisation (CGA) is responsible for developing and promoting the collective interest of citrus growers. Its area of responsibility and involve- ment around quality includes the following:

• Market access

• Production Best Practices to optimise the cost effective production of quality fruit

• Minimum industry quality standards and regulations

• Research and development

• Plant improvement, cultivar development and plant certification

• Training, statistics and communication.

Research and development with regard to citrus fruit is mainly carried out by Citrus Re- search International, an affiliate of the CGA. Areas of research include Cultivar Develop- ment, Crop load and Fruit quality management, Disease management as well as Inte- grated Pest Management.

World ranking

South Africa currently ranks 12th in terms of world citrus production but are second with regard to citrus exports. Only Spain currently exports more citrus than SA.

Conclusion

The South African fresh fruit industry is acutely aware of the changing needs of consumers and buyers in the import countries as well as of the fact that there is an over production of fruit worldwide. In response to this and to enable the industry to stay internationally competitive, the aforementioned initiatives and measures have been put in place over the years to ensure continued market access and quality acceptance of South African citrus fruit. This is an ongoing process and talks are held annually between all industry role players (including government) to ensure that market requirements are met.

Degreening of citrus fruit – a blessing or a curse for quality Dr Ulrike Bickelmann

Why degreening? carbohydrates and ethylene, turn into chromoplasts; yet, when temperatures Frequently, fruit of early varieties of lemons, are high, when there is sufficient light, oranges or the tangerine group comply with and provided that the nitrogen content legally or regionally laid down provisions is relatively high, chromoplasts can turn on criteria for minimum ripeness for eating back into chloroplasts. This demonstrates quality, before their skin has changed its that colouring is enhanced when there is colour to the shade of yellow or orange which a high amount of soluble dry matter, that is typical of the type or variety. At times this same effect is achieved by fire-induced also applies to later varieties. This is a fact well trunk girdling. known to consumers in producer countries, while consumers from northern European • Tightly hanging fruit, in years when yields countries, - due to the type of fruit they are fa- are high (alternation!), means that com- miliar with, e.g. apples and strawberries, – as- petition among the numerous fruit leads sociate a greenish skin with a lack of ripeness to earlier ripeness and enhanced colou- or inedibility. Almost a hundred years ago, ring. producers of citrus fruit have therefore decided to comply with consumer expectations • Age of trees; i.e. older trees with diminis- and to degreen their produce. They are thus hed vegetative growth develop fruit with also in the position to harvest fruit very early deeper colouring. and to win the sought after Primeur Awards for supplying the market so early. If this is the Facts on ripeness of citrus fruit! case, and if consumers has not changed their views for the last fifty years, then degreening Ripeness of citrus fruit is determined by the is a blessing for all producers, as it provides following factors: the guarantee that they will be able to sell • Ripeness is the starting point of ageing. their produce. • Skin colour may be in keeping with intrin- Facts on the influence of production on sic quality; it can either precede the latter colouring! or lag behind.

With citrus fruit, the orange or yellow co- • Citrus fruit are non-climacteric and there- louring of the skin is influenced by several fore must be harvested when ripe. factors, with individual factors being influenced by cultivation measures. The following • There is no natural climacterium, i.e. the factors result in deeper colouring: rate of respiration and build-up of ethylene are very low during maturation; and • Nitrogen supply during autumn is scarce. when maturity begins, ethylene concentration within fruit does not increase • High light intensity, i.e., thorough prun- significantly. By means of ethylene that is ing ensures good exposure for all fruit externally applied, an increase in respira- growing at any one tree. tion is induced that is related to ethylene- • Fire-induced trunk girdling of trees in the concentration. summer. • Over time, the natural course of matura- • Daytime temperatures at approx. 20°C, tion (given example, the Mediterranean) nighttime temperatures below 13°C, and is as follows: chlorophyll depletion from ground temperatures below 12°C. September until December; build-up of carotinoides from September up to April; • When temperatures are low, and when it increase in juice content and soluble dry is dark, chloroplasts, in conjunction with matter from September onwards, acid depletion.

Facts on degreening! too high, moisture develops on the skin, which will in turn lead to stains; when air Degreening depletes the chlorophyll con- humidity is too low, the skin will suffer tained in the skin, thus making visible the yel- ethylene burns. low and orange carotinoides that are equally contained in the skin. The following factors • CO2 content must be below 0.3%, as the are decisive for professional degreening: latter competes with the ethylene.

• Fruit must be sufficiently ripe to be eaten. • Concentration of the ethylene, which is applied from the outside, amounts to • Fruit must already have started to change between 1 and 5 ppm of ethylene. in colour while still on the tree; the later harvesting takes place, the more fruit has • Duration of degreening can hardly be changed in colour, and the more its oran- controlled; it depends on what the mar- ge colouring has intensified. ket/customer desires, transport temperature (3.5 to 10°C) and the condition • Harvesting must be done selectively; i.e. the fruit are in. In any case, the supply of only fruit from two neighbouring colour ethylene must be stopped approximately levels of a same colour palette may be har- 6 hours before packing takes place. After vested and/or degreened together. the fruit has left the degreening room, the process of degreening still continues. • The fruit intended for degreening must be treated with a fungicide within 24 • After degreening, the cold chain must hours of harvesting. work effectively and must not be inter- rupted, as degreening speeds up ageing. • In order to preserve the calyx, fruit may be treated with 2.4-D before degreening, Degreening is not a cure and does nothing to provided this is permitted in the receiving improve quality. country. Facts on the consequences of degreening • Fruit thus treated must be dried before degreening takes place; otherwise green for fruit! stains will develop at the contact points of Ethylene is a natural plant hormone that fruit. controls maturation. Ethylene in low con- • The degreening room must be regularly centrations is biologically active and highly sterilized. mobile. The most obvious effects are noticeable with the flavedo; while on the pulp hardly • High field temperatures require accelera- any effects are ascertainable immediately ted cooling of fruit whose pulp tempera- after degreening; i.e., at this point of time, the ture must not deviate for more than 3 °C content of soluble dry matter and acid are not from the degreening temperature. impaired. Producers might therefore be under the im- • Relative air humidity and temperature in pression that inherent quality of citrus fruit the degreening room must be steadily set has in no way been impaired. before the ethylene is applied. Resulting from the application of ethylene to • Temperature must be between 18 and the outside of fruit, what happens during the 23°C and is fixed according to the time further stages of marketing is as follows: of the season, the variety and the time available. The lower the temperature, the • The rate of respiration is increased. deeper the orange colouring achieved; temperatures above 25 °C will lead to • Energy reservoirs are exhausted. tawny shades of colour. • Ageing is accelerated. • Relative air humidity must be between 94 • Keeping quality is reduced. and 96%; in case relative air humidity is

• Acids are depleted, i.e. fruit begin to taste quences: plain. • Additional cost is incurred. Degreening is • The aroma of fruit might be blemished. only cost-effective, if huge quantities can be treated simultaneously. • Fruit becomes more susceptible to cold damage and olleocellosis. • It leads to additional and totally superflu- ous energy requirements. • • Additional risks occur. These developments are aggravated by admi- nistering a high amount of ethylene, through • Undesired losses occur, which in part only faulty degreening or interruptions in the cold become noticeable at downstream mar- chain. keting stages, and for which producers are charged, when these losses become Facts on consequences for the consumer! obvious already at the first marketing stage after dispatch/export. The above-mentioned deficiencies only become noticeable during the further stages • In the medium term, or even in the long of marketing, i.e. e. at the retail stage, or with term, the market might be disrupted, the consumer. if Primeur fruit of very low quality are offered to the consumer. • At the beginning of the season, consumers are disappointed, in particular by • There is the risk that consumers will small citrus fruit, so-called easy peelers, turn away from easy peelers when they because these are expensive but do not will have learnt by experience that they taste well and are of low keeping quality. cannot rely on a good intrinsic quality of citrus fruit. • In subsequent weeks consumers will auto- matically refrain from buying this type of Conclusion produce. Citrus fruit that have reached a state of matu- • Moreover, this causes frustration with rity making them fit for consumption while consumers, who all long for the fruit they still on the tree, are of optimum quality. A be- have tasted and learnt to appreciate duri- lated harvest, because a deeper colouring of ng their holidays abroad, and which were, the skin has been waited for, or degreening, though less attractive in outward appea- can only lead to a loss in intrinsic quality. rance, much better in terms of taste. Citrus fruit of a maturity making them fit • Consumers have an inkling that the defi- for consumption must be marketed imme- ciencies they complain about have some- diately and without degreening! thing to do with the fact that producing countries do not offer citrus fruit at their Consumers are ready to accept the greenish natural, optimal state of ripeness. shades of skin colour, when it has been adequately explained to them that with citrus • Consumers wish for naturally matured, fruit this is not a sign of low intrinsic quality. well tasting citrus fruit. The proof that this works are green, sweet Facts on the consequences of degreening pineapples that are labelled accordingly and for the producer/trade! that have been promoted by means of ta- stings at the sales points. Producers use degreening in order to make fruit acceptable to a certain market and less If producers and trade work together on this so because any deficiencies in quality might project, the Commission of the European have to be remedied, or because they wanted Communities might be persuaded to join in to guard against deterioration. For the con- co-financing a generic advertising project. sumer this has considerable economic conse-

Consumers must be adequately informed!

Minimum requirements for ripeness as stipulated in the EC marketing standard need to be revised. So far criteria for colouring are strongly geared to the fact that citrus fruit are as a rule degreened. In future it should be stipulated that for minimum ripeness the change in colour must already have occurred. Moreover, in conjunction with the producing countries, some thought should be given to the introduction of further minimum requirements that can be objectively measured, i.e. e. soluble dry matter and/or sugar/acid ratio, to complement the minimum juice content, as presently stipulated.

The EC marketing standard and the UN/ ECE standard need to be amended!

For the good of consumers, the trade, of producers and the environment, degreening of citrus fruit must be stopped– for the best, starting with the citrus fruit season 2007/2008.

Producers and trade could join in a system partnership for this project so that nobody will be left behind when striking this new path. Let us be optimistic and take timely action, before Greenpeace or a tabloid like Bildzeitung will point fingers at yesteryear’s degreeners. I would like to encourage producers and the trade: start by putting an end to degreening, and trust that consumers and quality control services do not live in the past. You will have the support of control services! And trust that consumers will adapt – imagine next season’s advertising slogan:

Here they are at last – the naughty, green little fruit!

Draft proposal to amend the provisions on sampling – in case of non- conformity Heinrich Stevens

Sampling is the basis of every inspection. In in inspection, as each sales package has to be the European Union, the inspection method opened and emptied, because otherwise an is based on Annex IV of Regulation (EC) No objective result may not be achieved. 1148/2001, that just copied the Annex II “Ope- rating Rules for the Conformity Checks of Moreover, when it comes to check the ma- Produce Exported under the Scheme” of the turity of fruit and objective tests have to Draft Council Decision Revising the OECD be applied in accordance with the OECD Scheme for the Application of International Guidance on Objective Tests to Determine Standards for Fruit and Vegetables as written the Quality of Fruit and Vegetables and Dry in C(99)10/FINAL or C(2006)95 (Table 1). and Dried Produce (http://www.oecd.org/agr/ fv), each lot may be confirmed or Table 1: Extract from Annex IV of Regulation (EC) No. rejected on the basis of 10 fruit. 1148/2001 Inspectors have expressed their The bulk sample shall comprise the following minimum concerns that this sample size is quantities whenever a lot is declared unsatisfactory: not adequate and they may be right as this sample size originally Packed produce *) has been developed in research to Number of check the maturity of fruit in the Number of packages in the packages to be taken (pri- orchard. lot mary samples) up to 100 5 These few samples and remarks show already, that the provisions 101 to 300 7 on sampling should be revised. In any case, sampling should: 301 to 500 9 • be based on easy rules respec- 501 to 1000 10 ting the size of the transport package as well as the presentation over 1000 minimum 15 in sales packages.

*) In the case of bulky fruit and vegetables (over 2 kg per • produce a reasonable number unit), the primary samples should be made up of at least five of units to be checked. units. In the case of lots comprising fewer than 5 packages or weighing less than 10 kg, the check shall cover the entire • produce results reflecting with lot. sufficient statistical security the quality of the lot.

These provisions on sampling date back to Sampling is a temporary measure, i.e. after a time when fresh fruit and vegetables have inspection the samples are put back to the lot exclusively been packed in layers or in bulk in without those produce that have been destro- the package destined to be the transport pa- yed during inspection. The sampling for con- ckage (Example 1). The types of presentation formity checks has to be at random as for the have been changed in the last decades. More distribution of parameters that are relevant and more, the produce is presented in bulk for the inspection only few or no information bins or big bags. Consequently the provisions is available. The principle of coincidence is on sampling give rise to very big sample sizes characterised by the fact that each element of (Example 2), as each primary sample has to be the main unit has equal probability to be part emptied and its content has to be inspected. of the sample. In addition to that, the produce is presented in open or closed sales packages packed in so- Proposal for a new provision on sampling called transport packages. In these cases (Exa- mple 3), big sample sizes have to be managed This proposal refers to fresh fruit and vegeta-

© BLE, IAT- 2007 67 Draft proposal to amend the provisions on sampling – in case of non-conformity bles only; for inshell nuts the sampling should than 30 units (Example 4). follow the existing provisions in Regulation • In case of small fruit like cherries presen- (EC) No. 1148/2001 and/or C(2006)95 of the ted in bulk in the package, the secondary OECD. sample comprises 30 hands full of fruit. Lot: Quantity of produce which, at the time of • 90 units, in case the net weight of the control at one place, has similar characteri- package is more than 25 kg and the pa- stics with regard to packer and/or dispatcher, ckage does not contain any sales package country of origin, nature of produce, class of (Example 5). produce, size (if the produce is graded according to size), variety or commercial type • 3 sales packages, if these contain 10 or (according to the relevant provisions of the more units (Example 6). standard), type of packaging and presentation. However, if during the inspection of • 5 sales packages, if these contain 9 or less consignments, it is not possible to distinguish units (Example 7). between different lots and/or presentation of individual lots is not possible, all lots of a The produce of each secondary sample is specific consignment may be treated as one checked for conformity with the marketing lot if they are similar in regard to type of pro- standard. The produce showing defects is duce, dispatcher, country of origin, class and recorded or for the subsequent assessment/ variety or commercial type, if this is provided report placed separately. In case a unit shows for in the standard. more than one defect, only the most severe is assessed. The lot has to be checked for intactness. In case that pallets or parts of it are damaged, Some units have to be cut. In case these these parts have to be separated and even- checks reveal that the lot is affected by in- tually to be rejected. In addition to that the ternal defects, the reduced sample has to be labelling of the pallets has to be checked, es- checked. pecially in case that the transport package is not labelled but the sales packages contained Bulk sample: The total of the secondary in the transport package – which is allowed in samples. The number of produce affected by accordance with the EC marketing standards. defects, i. e. the assessment is based on the bulk sample being 100 % and the percentage Primary sample: Package taken at random of defects has to be calculated on that basis. from the lot. In case there is any suspicion of Depending on the marketing standard, the non-conformity, the sampling has to compri- calculation can be based on the number or se the minimum number of primary samples weight of defective units in the bulk sample. to be taken in accordance with table 1. The primary samples are used to check the gene- Reduced sample: a maximum of 10 % of the ral appearance of the produce, the presenta- bulk sample, but at least 15 units (including tion, the cleanliness of the packages and the trusses of fruit or sales packages). The redu- labelling. For the general appearance, first ced sample is used for the checks concerning the top layer is inspected. After the package development and ripeness or internal defects. has been partly emptied, the appearance of The reduced sample has to be taken at ran- the total content is checked. dom from the bulk sample being separated from damaged or rotten units. Secondary sample: Several produce units taken at random from the primary sample. The The check of the reduced sample concerning secondary sample has to comprise: development and ripeness is only necessary, if external characteristics or the season give • 30 units, in case the net weight of the rise for a certain risk for insufficient develo- package is 25 kg or less and the package ped or unripe produce. The preparation of does not contain any sales packages. In the sample has to follow the OECD Guidance certain cases this means that the whole on (http://www.oecd.org/agr/fv). content of the package has to be checked, if the primary sample contains not more

Representative result: The result of inspection is representative for the lot, as all samples (primary, secondary and reduced sample) are taken at random. In case the lot is very heterogeneous, the lot should be separated in rather homogenous lots. If this is not possible, the protocol of non-conformity should mention the heterogeneous character of the lot.

These provisions on sampling are applicable at all levels of marketing, including retail. There is only one limiting application for these provisions (and for all other existing or conceivable provisions): the inspection of produce loaded in bulk in a sea-container (mostly onions). In these cases a sampling at random and thus a representative sampling is not possible or only with extreme difficulties. Consequently, onions loaded in bulk in the container can only be checked when unloa- ded.

Example 1: Produce in bulk in a package of a net weight not exceeding 25 kg Apples in cartons of 15 kg Number of fruit: 90 units in a package Check for intactness and the Lot size 1,100 cartons = 16,500 kg labelling of the pallet, where appropriate Check for the general appea- Primary samples 15 cartons rance, labelling 15 x 15 kg = 225 kg Bulk sample Check for external defects 15 x 90 = 1,350 fruit Reduced sample 22.5 kg = 135 fruit Check for internal defects (max. 10 %) Check for development and/or 10 fruit ripeness Example 2: Produce packed in bulk in a package of a net weight exceeding 25 kg (big containers, bulk bins, big bags) Onions in Bulk Bins each weighing 1,000 kg Size of units: Ø 60 mm, ca. 80–90 g, i. e. ca. 12 units per kg Check for intactness and the Lot size 20 bins = 20,000 kg labelling of the pallet, where appropriate Check for the general appea- Primary samples 5 bins rance, labelling 5 x 1,000 kg = 5,000 kg Bulk sample Check for external defects a. 60,000 units Reduced sample 500 kg = 6,000 units Check for internal defects (max. 10 %) Check for development and/or 10 units ripeness

Example 3: Produce in packages containing sales packages Lemons in transport packages of a net weight of 15 kg containing 10 sales packages (nets) of 10 fruits each Check for intactness and the Lot size 1,100 boxes = 16,500 kg labelling of the pallet, where appropriate Check for the general appea- Primary samples 15 boxes rance, labelling 15 x 15 = 225 kg Bulk sample Check for external defects 150 x 10 = 1,500 units

Reduced sample 22.5 kg = 150 units Check for internal defects (max. 10 %)

Check for development and/or 10 units ripeness

Example 4: Produce in bulk in a package Apples in cartons of a net weight of 15 kg Number of fruits: 90 units in the package Check for intactness and the Lot size 1.100 cartons = 16.500 kg labelling of the pallet, where appropriate Check for the general appea- Primary sample 15 cartons rance, labelling Secondary sample 30 fruits Check for external defects Bulk sample 15 x 30 = 450 fruits Assessment of the lot Reduced sample Check for internal defects and/or 15 x 3 = 45 fruits (max. 10 %) development and ripeness

Example 5: Produce in bulk in bins (bulk bins, big bags) Onions in bulk bins of a net weight of 1.000 kg Size of the unit: Ø 60 mm, 80–90 g, i. e. 12 units per kg Lot size 20 bins = 20,000 kg Check for intactness Check for the general appea- Primary sample 5 bins rance, labelling Secondary sample 90 units Check for external defects

Bulk sample 5 x 90 = 450 units Assessment of the lot

Reduced sample Check for internal defects and/or 5 x 9 = 45 units (max. 10 %) development and ripeness

Example 6: Produce in a package containing sales packages (each sales package containing more than 9 units) Lemons in a package of a net weight of 15 kg containing 10 sales packages (nets) each sales package containing 10 units Check for intactness and the Lot size 1.100 boxes = 16.500 kg labelling of the pallet, where appropriate Check for the general appea- Primary sample 15 boxes rance, labelling Secondary sample 3 nets Check for external defects

15 x 3 = 45 nets Bulk sample Assessment of the lot 45 x 10 = 450 units

Reduced sample Check for internal defects and/or 45 units (max. 10 %) development and ripeness

Example 7. Produce in a package containing sales packages (each sales package containing 9 units or less)

Lemons in a package of a net weight of 15 kg containing 20 sales packages (nets) each sales package containing 5 units Check for intactness and the Lot size 1.100 boxes = 16.500 kg labelling of the pallet, where appropriate Check for the general appea- Primary sample 15 boxes rance, labelling Secondary sample 5 nets Check for external defects

15 x 5 = 75 nets Bulk sample Assessment of the lot 75 x 10 = 750 units

Reduced sample Check for internal defects and/or 75 units (max. 10 %) development and ripeness

Genetic identification of fruit varieties – a service for practice Dr Haibo Xuan

How can a variety be identified? Apfel 1 Apfel 2 Apfel 3 Apfel 4 Phenological characteristics are traditionally used for variety determination. These are for 1 A 1 A example depth of stalk and eye cavity, sepals, core, seeds, seed casing, vascular bundle, skin, 3 A 3 A pulp, growth, shape of leaves, bark colour etc. Numerous phenological characteristics 2 A are however subject to a considerable range of variations, depending on site, rootstock, 5 A maintenance und weather conditions, which 4 A 1 A makes reliable determination rather difficult. Abb.1 Schematische Darstellung von "Fingerprints" Since April 2004, the Kompetenzzentrum Beispiel einer Identifizierung anhand eines Genmarkers (eines Obstbau-Bodensee (KOB) takes part in an Genorts). Die Fragmente 1A-5A sind unterschiedliche Ausprägungen der Allelen, die durch ein paar Genmarker getestet international project within the framework of sind. Die Entzifferung zu dieser konkreten Darstellung lautet, Apfel 3 INTERREG IIIA Bodensee-Alpenrhein-Hoch- ist die Kreuzung von Apfel 1 und Apfel 2. Apfel 4 ist der halbblütige rhein for the preservation old pip fruit varie- Verwandte von Apfel 2. ties in the project area, with KOB supporting fruit juice is still in the test phase. Material the phenological identification of varieties by used for sampling is either immediately used means of genetic fingerprinting. for testing or is freeze-dried and kept in a free- zer at –32 °C until it is analysed. What is genetic fingerprinting? DNA extraction is carried out according to in- Genetic fingerprinting is a method by which, ternationally standardized methods and in a through localisation of known sections of reproducible manner. For characterizing fruit DNA (markers, gene locus) of the respective varieties, genetic markers from the CH series organisms tested, e.g. apples, cherries, plums, of ETH Zurich and the international genetic pears etc., can be identified. For this, DNA database are chosen. A marker is a small part fragments that are characteristic for the indi- of DNA that is required for providing evi- vidual fruit variety are compared with each dence of specific fragments of DNA by means other. Here, this is exemplified by apples (see of the PCR method (multiplication of a gene). diagram 1). It mostly consists of 18-24 nucleotides. With the PCR method, the marker pins down the When compared to phenological identifica- DNA sequence sought and starts copying it. tion of fruit varieties, genetic identification The DNA sequence to be identified is then proves the more exact and more conclusive multiplied until an analytically measurable method, and it can be carried out irrespective quantity has been produced. After that, PCR of seasons. This method requires very little products are applied to an 8-capillary se- material. Unknown varieties can be identified quencer for fragment analysis. The results are through setting up a data bank of varieties shown in chart 2. This provides the basis for a that have already been identified. cluster analysis; an endogram of parentage can then be established. How are tests carried out? Chart 2: Comparison of the four varieties – The material required for variety identifi- one example for measurement results cation may consist of healthy, fresh, young leaves, of grown leaves, fruit, one-year-old A few examples with regard to results shoots, buds, bark, roots or even compote, that is, of all parts of a tree, with the exception Results of mutants for Braeburn and Fuji: of seeds and withered flowers. For the time Chart 1 shows the fingerprints of 6 Braeburn being, DNA extraction from cocktail fruit or mutants and 2 Fuji mutants that have been

© BLE, IAT- 2007 73 Draft proposal to amend the provisions on sampling – in case of non-conformity tested in 12 loci with 12 genetic markers. The wed that two Noire de Meched (W49, W46) figures in chart 1 show the fragment length from Weinsberg were identical. L47, W48, in base pairs (unit of inherited material). W54 and W103 were identified as authentic Braeburn and Fuji are diploid; this therefore Vanda; others, such as L48, W51, W50, W100, results in a maximum of two figures for each W101 and W102, proved false and were mar- locus. One figure (e.g. 218bp for loci 6 of Fuji ked as unknown varieties. Kiku 8) signifies that this locus is homozy- gous; two figures (e.g. 108bp and 164bp for The varieties Sweetheart and Sumste from loci 1 of Braeburn Lochbuie) signify a locus three origins are identical. Karina (BVK7)

that is heterozygous. As shown in chart 1, from Bavendorf is not identical with Karina fragments between mutants are identical. 61510 (W52, authentic) from Weinsberg, but This shows that this method is not yet suitable is identical with Oktavia (BVK1) from Ba- to the identification of mutations, as the gene vendorf. Skeena/Gi5 (BVK11) is not identical loci in which mutants of one variety differ with W109, W110 and BVK5. Giorgia from have not yet been identified. Once these have the Landesanstalt, and from Weinsberg, are been identified, this could then lead to the not identical; however, further checking of development of a primer for mutants that is samples and methodology is required. characteristic of a respective variety. Conclusion Variety comparison for sweet cherries: For sweet cherries, technical development is still Genetic variety identification allows for the in its early stages. Table 2 provides examples parison of two unknown varieties by means of 33 samples from Weinsberg, Bavendorf of DNA fingerprints. Moreover, DNA finger- and the Landesanstalt für Pflanzenschutz prints of varieties that have already been Baden-Württemberg. Sweet cherries are di- identified allow for comparison with finger- ploid, as is the case with most apples. prints of unknown samples, provided information on these varieties has already been Therefore, a maximum of two figures are entered in a databank. At the KOB, this me- the rule with each tested locus. Results sho- thod is already routinely practised for apples

Numerous varieties have already been analysed on behalf of different food trade enterprises, discounters, and quality control services in Germany. Expanding gene banks through inclusion of further, newer varieties will ensure safe variety determination for breeding, tree nurseries and quality control; it will also serve as a practical means for rendition of service (court-proof variety identification).

Table 1: Representation of the genetic fingerprints of Braeburn and Fuji mutants

Loci 1 Loci 2 Loci 3 Loci 4 Loci 5 Loci 6 Loci 7 Loci 8 Loci 9 Loci 10 Loci11 Loci 12 Braeburn Lochbuie 108 164 194 202 243 255 107 131 157 159 218 230 87 89 186 252 122 176 204 216 254 Braeburn Nakb 108 164 194 202 243 255 107 131 157 159 218 230 87 89 186 252 122 176 204 216 254 Braeburn Redfield 108 164 194 202 243 255 107 131 157 159 218 230 87 89 186 252 122 176 204 216 254 Braeburn Joburn 108 164 194 202 243 255 107 131 157 159 218 230 87 89 186 252 122 176 204 216 254 Braeburn Huwell 108 164 194 202 243 255 107 131 157 159 218 230 87 89 186 252 122 176 204 216 254 Braeburn Scaweider 108 164 194 202 243 255 107 131 157 159 218 230 87 89 186 252 122 176 204 216 254 Fuju Kiku 8 104 108 174 202 231 243 103 115 155 157 218 87 117 158 186 238 122 178 180 210 Fuju Raku Raku 104 108 174 202 231 243 103 115 155 157 218 87 117 158 186 238 122 178 180 210

Table 2: Comparative representation of the sweet cgerry varieties from the Lnadesanstalt für Pflanzen- schutz in Baden - Württemberg in Stuttgart (abbr. L), Staatliche Lehr - und Versuchsanstalt für Wein- und Obstbau (abbr. W.) und KOB (abbr. BVK) 220 220 220 248 248 254 248 220 248 220 238 238 248 220 254 254 220 216 220 220 214 214 214 238 238 248 214 214 214 214 214 214 214 238 220 214 238 218 218 218 214 238 210 238 238 214 214 214 214 220 214 214 214 214 Loci 12 161 161 165 165 161 165 165 165 165 165 165 165 165 151 151 151 151 151 165 151 151 151 151 151 151 151 165 151 151 165 151 151 151 151 165 151 151 151 151 151 151 151 151 151 151 151 151 Loci 11 120 120 120 122 122 122 120 120 120 120 120 120 120 120 122 122 122 120 120 120 120 120 120 120 120 120 120 120 120 106 106 106 120 120 120 120 120 120 106 106 106 106 106 106 106 106 120 120 120 120 106 106 106 106 106 120 106 106 106 106 106 106 106 Loci 10 231 231 231 231 231 231 231 231 231 231 231 231 231 231 231 229 229 231 231 237 231 231 231 231 231 231 231 231 231 231 227 227 227 227 227 227 227 227 227 227 227 227 227 227 227 227 227 227 227 227 227 227 227 227 227 227 227 221 227 227 227 227 227 227 Loci 9 197 197 197 197 197 197 197 197 197 197 197 197 197 197 197 197 197 197 197 197 197 197 197 197 197 197 197 197 197 195 195 195 195 195 195 195 195 195 195 195 195 195 195 195 197 197 195 195 195 195 195 195 195 195 195 195 195 197 195 195 Loci 8 145 145 143 143 143 143 143 137 143 143 143 143 143 143 143 143 143 143 143 143 143 143 135 143 143 143 143 143 143 143 143 135 137 137 135 137 137 135 143 135 135 137 137 137 135 137 137 137 143 143 143 Loci 7 254 254 254 254 254 244 244 254 254 244 244 254 254 254 254 244 254 254 254 244 244 244 244 244 242 254 254 254 244 244 244 244 242 238 244 244 242 254 254 254 254 242 242 242 242 244 242 244 244 238 244 244 244 Loci 6 187 187 187 187 187 187 187 185 185 185 185 187 187 185 185 187 185 185 185 187 187 187 187 185 187 185 185 187 185 185 179 179 179 179 179 179 179 179 179 179 179 179 179 179 185 179 179 179 179 179 179 179 179 187 179 179 179 179 179 179 185 179 179 179 Loci 5 118 118 118 118 118 118 118 118 118 120 124 124 118 118 118 118 118 118 118 118 118 118 118 118 118 118 118 110 110 110 110 116 116 110 118 118 116 116 118 110 118 118 118 118 116 110 116 116 116 118 110 118 110 Loci 4 214 214 214 216 216 216 216 216 216 216 204 204 216 214 216 216 216 216 216 216 216 216 216 204 204 204 200 200 200 202 202 214 214 214 214 204 204 214 202 200 200 200 200 204 204 202 200 200 204 200 204 204 204 200 214 214 214 Loci 3 145 145 145 141 141 145 145 141 141 141 141 141 145 143 145 145 141 137 141 141 145 141 137 137 137 137 137 141 137 137 137 137 137 137 137 139 137 137 137 137 137 137 143 137 137 137 137 139 133 139 139 137 137 137 137 137 Loci 2 72 72 72 72 72 72 72 101 101 105 105 105 105 105 105 105 105 105 105 62 62 62 72 72 72 62 62 62 72 62 72 62 62 72 82 62 62 72 72 72 72 72 72 62 72 105 105 105 105 105 105 105 105 Loci 1 L45 L46 L40 L39 L47 L48 W52 W44 W45 W49 W46 W48 W54 W51 W50 BVK5 BVK1 BVK7 BVK6 BVK4 W110 W109 W104 W102 W103 W108 W101 W112 W100 W111 W107 W106 W105 Lab. Z.Lab. BVK11 Skeena/Gi5 Skeena Skeena (61510) Skeena (61690) Oktavia Karina Karina 61510 Karina Samba Sumste (Samba) Sweetheart I Sweetheart Sweetheart II Sweetheart Sweethaert I Sweethaert Sumtare (Sweetheart) Vanda (falsch)Vanda Holovousy (echt)Vanda Jork Sweetheart Samba (61690) Vanda (falsch)Vanda Jork Merchant (61690) Merchant Vanda (falsch)Vanda Gräb Giorgia (61690) Giorgia Sumste (29-1-0-0-1) Noire de MechedNoire de (Ertragsbaum) MechedNoire de (SoKo) echt Vanda, falschVanda, Vanda 61511 Vanda 61690 Vanda (Jungbaum)Vanda (Ertragsbaum)Vanda Sweetheart 61690 Sweetheart Name Sweetheart II Sweetheart

Quality promotion in apple cultivation Kerstin Funke The occurrence of red coloured mutants Globalization of the international fruit and showed that the attribute “colour” is not vegetable markets, rising fruit production sufficient to assess the quality of fruit. Active world-wide and more demanding market marketing measures targeting at the taste of standards increase both the cost and quality consumers were not possible. pressure on the producers. While the slogan read in the past: “Selling, what has been New, improved technologies, that do not only produced”, it will increasingly read in the grade the fruit according to colour and size, future: ”Producing, what can be sold”. The but also determine internal quality criteria right apple in the right size and the right co- without destruction of the fruit, provide the lour must be placed in the right market at the producers with important information about right time. The producer becomes the quality the different quality factors of the fruit. This manager for the product “apple”. In years of information assist the optimisation of the surplus, only the best fruit qualities will make products and allows active marketing of pre- ready sales. mium fruit possible. The term “quality” refers to the external Quality and yield in the cultivation of apples quality criteria, like form, size and colour of are the results of the interaction of environ- the fruit as well as skin finish, and the internal mental influences (light, carbon dioxide, nu- characteristics, e.g. sugar and starch content trient supply, water), physiological processes of the fruit, acidity and fruit firmness, sum- (light admission, photosynthesis, respiration, marised as “taste” or consumer perception. development of leaf area) and technical mea- Colouring A B C D group (Red varieties) (Mixed red colou- (Striped slightly coloured (Other varie- ring varieties) varieties) ties) Total surface area Total surface area Total surface area of slight- of red colouring of mixed red colou- ly red coloured, blushed or characteristic of ring characteristic striped characteristic of the the variety of the variety variety Extra class 3/4 1/2 1/3 No requirement as to red Class I 1/2 1/3 1/10 colouring

Class II 1/4 1/10 – Table 1: Commission Regulation (EC) No 85/2004 laying down the marketing standard for apples (extract of the appendix) sures of crop management (pruning, thin- Research showed that “the ideal” apple ning, plant protection) (Fig. 1). should be “juicy, crisp and tasteful”. The consumer determines which additional cha- While the producer has only limited influ- racteristics of apple fruit are particularly im- ence on the environment and physiological portant according to personal preferences. processes within an orchard, the application Apart from the quality of a fruit other factors of targeted technical measures in the cultiva- such as price, origin or production method tion permits the production of high quality may be relevant for a purchase decision. fruit. In the following the aforementioned quality improvements will be demonstrated Marketing standards such as the Commission using the example of red colour development Regulation (EC) No 85/2004 laying down the on bi-coloured apple fruit by the application marketing standard for apples (Table 1) are of reflective ground cover. based on the attributes, fruit size and for bi- coloured varieties on the development of red colouration.

Environment Physiological processes In the year 2001 , a light reflecting • light • light interception ground cover (Extenday™) was spread • nutrient supply • photosynthesis out at a commercial orchard (varieties • carbon diocide • respiration ‘Fuji’ and ‘Pacific Rose’) as part of a • water • development of leaf area research project in Motueka, New Zea- • ... • ... land, four and two weeks respectively prior to the predicted harvest date on both side of the tree rows according to the manufacturer's recommendation. Technical measures The woven white plastic ground cover Genetic is permeable to water and, to a small fundamentals • pruning extent, permeable to light. In spite of • genes resposnible for • thinning the ground cover the tramline stays accessible for cultivation measures. anthocyanin- synthesis • plant protection • mutants • ... The reflective ground colour improved Figure 1: Influence of different processes on quality and yield formation in the cultivation of apple the colouration of fruit from the outer and inner part of the canopy (Fig. 2). The light reflecting ground cover has been Reflective ground cover is also used in the developed in regions with long hours of northern hemisphere to improve fruit colou- sunshine and high radiation intensity. In the- ration, especially of late-ripening bi-coloured se areas large trees with strong shoot growth apple varieties, e.g. cv. ‘Braeburn’, often in are fairly common for shading of the fruit and connection with further technical cultivation as a protection from sunburn . measures. The low exposure of the fruit within the lower part of the tree canopy often results in an in- As a possible result of global warming the sufficient breakdown of the “green“ pigment occurrence of heavy hailstorms has substanti- chlorophyll (ground colour) and lesser syn- ally increased, so that hailnets are frequently thesis of the “red” pigment anthocyanin (top used for the protection of orchards in many colour) in the skin of the fruit, thereby leading parts of Central Europe. to a less fruit colouration. Thus several pickings are necessary.

100

40 Red top colour (%) 30

0 fruits from the outer part of fruits from the inner part of fruits from the upper part of the canopy the canopy the canopy without ground cover ground cover 2 weeks prior to harvest ground cover 4 weeks prior to harvest

Figure 2: Percentage of red top colour of cv. ‘Fuji’ apple fruit after usage of reflective ground colour, HortResearch, Motueka, NZ, 2001

The available quantity of light, which already nagold’ trees under black and white hailnets constricts growth and development of plants from May to harvest in September during the under Central European climatic conditions, vegetation period 2001/2002 in Klein-Alten- is however in particular reduced under black dorf Research Station, University of Bonn, hailnets up to 26% (Fig. 3). Germany. The consequences are poor fruit qualities in terms of colouration and therefore less chan- Neither the colour of the hailnet nor the ce for marketing at good prices, in particular ground cover affected ripeness or inner qua- with bi-coloured apple varieties such as cv. lity of the fruit. The reflective ground cover ‘Jonagold’‘. In addition trees under hailnets increased the proportion of good (> 50% red are prone to alternation, the sugar content top colour) to very good (> 75% red top colour) of the fruit is reduced and fruit ripeness is coloured fruit (Fig. 4). delayed. The ground cover compensated the light loss Reflective ground cover (Extenday™) were due to hailnets particularly for the otherwise spread underneath four-year-old apple cv. ‘Jo-

1600

1400

1200 ) -1

s 1000 -2

800

600

PAR (µmol m 400

200

0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Time of day

without hailnet white hailnet black hailnet Figure 3: Irradiation under hail nets, 05.09.2003, Klein-Altendorf Research Station, Rheinbach, Germany

100%

80%

60%

40% percentage blush 20%

0% without ground cover without ground cover without ground cover ground cover in august ground cover in august ground cover in august without hailnet white hailnet black hailnet

0 - 15 % 15 - 25 % 25 - 50 % 50 - 75 % 75 - 100 % blush blush blush blush blush Figure 4: Percentage of red top colour of cv. ‘Jonagold’ apple fruit under hailnets after usage of reflective ground colour, Klein-Altendorf Research Station, Rheinbach, Germany, 2003

In summary, the use of reflective ground cover will result in:

• the proportion of good (> 50% red top colour) to very good (> 75% red top colour) coloured fruit increase,

• fewer pickings are necessary,

• the light loss within the orchard due to hailnets will be compensated,

• the effect is most notable in relation to fruit from the otherwise shaded inner part of the tree,

• there are no effects on internal fruit quality parameters.

According to information provided by the manufacturer, the life expectancy of the reflective ground cover is 3 years under the climatic conditions of New Zealand if used once a year. In Germany the life expectancy will extend to 10 years due to reduced UV- radiation.

Taking a life expectancy of 10 years into consideration, the total costs of a reflective ground cover are amounting to 700 € per hectare (without laying out and rolling up) if used once per growing season. If the ground cover is used twice, i.e. for two apple varieties (early/late), the costs will be reduced to 350 € per hectare. Since approx. 8% more fruit of class I (related to fruit colouration) are produced, additional proceeds of 360 € per hectare (monetary gross yield of 1600 € at 0,50 €/kg apples) are archived.

Using a light reflective ground cover is one possibility to improve the colour development of apple fruit. A better fruit colouration, i.e. higher percentage of red blush, enables the producer to achieve better prices within the premium range of apple production (where minimum requirements are beyond the regulations of a marketing standard) and assures a strong position in the competitive market of apple production.

Impressum

Editor

Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food [Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung] Deichmanns Aue 29 53179 Bonn Germany Division 413

E-Mail: [email protected] Internet: www.ble.de

Phone: +49 (0)2 28 99 68 45 - 3927 Fax: +49 (0)2 28 99 68 45 - 39 45

Meeting

International Meeting Quality Control Fruit and Vegetables, 05. - 07. March 2007, Bonn, Germany