Annex 1. Excerpts from the by-laws of the Central Market for Fruit and Vegetables, Barcelona, Spain

MERCABARNA, S.A.

Article 1. - The present regulations determine the organization and operation of the Central Market for Fruit and Vegetables of the Barcelona Food Centre, as well as its complementary installations, and must be complied with by all persons and legal entities formally authorized to make use of them.

Article 3.1. - The organization and operation of the Central Market for Fruit and Vegetables of the Barcelona Food Centre is the responsibility of the Mixed Enterprise entrusted with the management of this service through its governing bodies.

CHAPTER I - ORGANIZATION

Section one
The Director of the Fruit and Vegetable Market

Article 4. - A Director, who will have the following duties, will assist the General Manager in the Market:

a) to direct the personnel under his orders;

b) to supervise the commercial activities taking place in the market to ensure that they are legal, reporting any anomalies to his superior officer;

c) to ensure the orderliness, discipline and cleanliness of the Market and the proper use of installations for common use;

d) to attend to the complaints of the public and market participants and transmit them, if need be, to his superior officer;

f) to facilitate the full inspection of stalls and vehicles by the appointed personnel and, if need be, carry out such inspections as he deems appropriate or as requested by the competent authorities;

g) to inspect the weighing and measuring instruments and to ensure the reweighing service;

h) to inform stall-holders of communications from the Management and to keep the latter continuously informed, with appropriate reports, of all important events in the Market;

j) to see to the conservation and maintenance of the building and its installations, requesting according to established procedures or directly, if necessary, the intervention of competent technical services;

k) to keep the administrative records of the Market, the register of entries and exits of documents, the register of stall-holders, the record of files where these are kept and the record of works undertaken and the dates on which these were begun;

l) to facilitate the accomplishment of the duties entrusted to the Central de Informacion de Productos de la Comisaría de Abastecimientos y Transportes (Information Centre of the Food Supply and Transport Commissariat) and the work of its staff, which fundamentally consists in collecting and comparing data and distributing the results obtained, without inherent prejudice to the compilation, classification and ordering of statistics on prices, origin and quantities of produce received and sold, in accordance with Management instructions;

ll) to attend to the financial administration and accounts of the Market;

m) to see to the punctual recovery of all forms of charges, rents and fines, reporting without delay any late or non-payments of such dues to his Superior;

n) to inform his Superior on Market operations and propose all forms of possible improvements;

Section two
The Advisory Committee

Article 6. - The Fruit and Vegetable Market will have an "Advisory Committee", whose composition and competencies are established in the following Articles.

Article 7. - The Advisory Committee will consist of:

1. The Market Director.

2. Two representatives of the wholesalers of fruit and vegetables freely elected among these traders who operate within the confines of the Market. 3. One representative of the farm workers’ associations.

4. Two representatives of the retailers of fruit and vegetables, freely elected among those licensed to purchase in the Market, one of the Zone Markets and another from among the shopkeepers.

5. One representative from the usual transport companies with municipal licenses.

6. One consumer representative.

7. One representative of the employees of the Fruit and Vegetable Market companies.

8. Any other person the Company deems appropriate to consult with regard to policies to be implemented for the improvement of the Market’s operations.

Section four
Sellers

Article 13. - The following persons or legal entities will be entitled to operate as holders of fixed stalls in the Central Market for Fruit and Vegetables:

a) wholesalers;

b) farm workers’ associations, cooperative unions, as well as the cooperatives, commercial services and various associations of the producers of the goods sold on the Market;

c) retailers’ associations;

d) the Municipality of Barcelona, the Mixed Enterprise and the Food Supply and Transport Commissariat, either directly or through authorized entities.

Article 15. - In all cases, stall-holders, of whatever category, must meet all the requirements and not be disqualified by any of the causes for disqualification stated in article 13 of the Regulations for the provision of services to the Markets and Slaughterhouses of the Food Centre.

Article 16. - Licenses for stall occupancy are issued by the Municipality.

Article 18. - 1. The market stalls will be assigned periodically and their number will be set in accordance with the given circumstances in such a way that, at all times, transactions may ensure competitive marketing in defence of consumer interests and to obtain fair remuneration for the producers.

- 2. Once stalls have been assigned to the wholesalers and associations that have preference by virtue of article 19 of the Service Regulations, the remaining stalls will be assigned by a system of selection of the applicants aimed at ensuring that the assignee carries out his commercial activities in conditions which effectively correspond to the terms of the tender referring to the greatest benefit to urban food supply, transparency and fluidity of transactions, superior Market operation and, in general, better service to the public. When the number of qualified bidders exceeds the number of stalls available, the assignments will be made on the basis of the most advantageous offers formulated, also in accordance with the terms of the tender.

Article 20. - Stalls for complementary activities in the Central Market for Fruit and Vegetables will be assigned by a selection process based on the economic and administrative conditions of the applicants.

Article 21. - 1. In the Central Market for Fruit and Vegetables, “producer spaces” may be used by persons accredited individually or collectively as representatives of one or more agricultural enterprise, as owner, tenant or landlord, for any form of activity approved by the laws in force, and as long as they are not already stall-holders.

- 2. When farm workers’ and breeders’ associations have an excess of goods, they will be able to use the “producer spaces”.

Article 23. - In the case of producers’ associations or cooperatives, documentation must be provided to accredit their legal constitution and the statutes or by-laws that regulate them.

Article 24. - “Producer spaces” will be assigned on a daily basis, or for longer periods, as Management sees fit, and always in accordance with the spaces available at any given time.

Section five
Buyers

Article 25. - The following will be able to operate as buyers in the Central Market for Fruit and Vegetables subject to the rules established in these bylaws:

a) retailers and their groupings, chains and associations;
b) institutions and communities of all categories;
c) consumer associations and cooperatives;
d) wholesalers not based in the Market, those that are, in cases approved in Article 38, and exporters;
e) all persons or entities to whom the Mixed Enterprise grants licenses to do so as per this Article.

CHAPTER II - OPERATION

Section one
Calendar and timetable

Article 26. - The Market will be open for business every day of the year, except Sundays and civil and religious holidays that are determined by the Provincial Labour Delegation, upon proposal by the Municipality.

Article 27. - The hours for each of the activities carried out in the Market will be established by the Mixed Enterprise in co-ordination with the Market network, in agreement with the Municipality and after consultation with the Advisory Committee, and will be communicated to those concerned.

Section two
Entry to, presence in and exit from the Market

Sub-section one
Persons

Article 28. - The public nature of the services provided in the Market makes it obligatory to allow free access to and presence in it to all persons taking part in activities related to the operations carried out within its confines.

Article 29. - 1. The following persons will be allowed free access to and presence in the Market according to the established timetable and Market regulations:

1) Staff-members of the Mixed Enterprise.

2) Wholesalers and their authorized personnel.

3) Members and employees of the Entities included under item b) of article 13.

4) Producers identified as users of “Producer spaces”. 5) Retail buyers and their authorized personnel.

6) Staff appointed for loading and unloading and not on the Enterprise’s payroll.

7) Authorized staff and employees of shops or industries within the Market.

8) Transport company personnel.

9) Personnel of companies delivering goods for sale in the Market and their representatives.

10) Persons with special authorizations from the Enterprise.

11) Staff of the Municipality, MERCASA, and the Food Supply and Transport Commissariat to carry out their duties in the Market.

- 2. Persons included under items 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 will have to be issued with appropriate permits by the Mixed Enterprise upon request.

- 3. The Mixed Enterprise will be obliged to issue such permits to all persons sufficiently accredited according to the above categories for entry in the Market.

- 4. Persons externally employed will request the appropriate permit through the person or entity that employs them.

- 5. Persons included under items 8, 9 and 10 will be issued with the appropriate authorization to enter and be present in the Market and will have to be supplied with a pass which clearly identifies them.

- 6. In all cases, persons allowed to enter or to be present in the Market will be obliged to exhibit their permit or pass to employees of the Enterprise upon request.

Sub-section two
Vehicles

Article 31. - 1. The entrances and exits of vehicles will take place through the gates that will be specifically indicated for this purpose.

- 2. The movement and parking of vehicles in the confines of the Market will also be regulated.

Article 32. - Entrance and parking fees for vehicles may also be charged, for which set tariffs will be established. Payment receipts must be shown to employees upon request.

Article 33. - Goods purchased in the Market may be removed in motor vehicles belonging to legally authorized transport companies or to the buyers, or their representatives and which, providing they comply with the standards of hygiene, may carry a load of at least 250 kilos.

Section three
Selling operations

Article 34. - 1. Items admitted for sale in the Market for Fruit and Vegetables are:

a) All species of fruit whether fresh, dried, deep-frozen, with pips or stones, frozen or lyophilized.
b) All species of vegetables, roots, tubers or greens whether fresh, frozen, lyophilized or deep-frozen.
c) Mushrooms that are approved by the Sanitary Inspection Services.

Article 35. - Selling may only take place in the areas reserved for that purpose.

Article 36. - The minimum quantity to be admitted and sold in the Market will not be less than one parcel (“bulto”).

Article 37. - Licensed sellers in the market will refrain from selling to anyone who is not duly licensed to buy.

Article 38. - Selling between wholesalers in the market is forbidden. Sales for the completion of minimum quantities, to clear stocks or any other similar circumstance can be exceptions to this rule at the Market Management’s discretion and with its express permission.

Article 39. - 1. Minimum quantities that should be sold per stall and per product category over the year or season will be indicated annually after consultation with the Advisory Committee.

- 2. Non compliance with these minimum requirements may lead to a reduction in the market-space occupied by the stall-holder.

- 3. Exceptions to the required minimum quantities may be made in the case of adverse climatic conditions or other causes of force majeure, providing the Mixed Enterprise considers the non-compliance justified and these conditions are sufficiently proven.

Article 40. - Independently of the measures referred to in the above articles, established stall-holders and service providers for complementary activities will be obliged to provide their services on a permanent basis, not closing without written permission from the Market Management, save in cases of force majeure or authorized holidays.

Article 41. - 1. When circumstances allow it, the Mixed Company will be able to make the use of non-returnable or disposable containers compulsory and impose a single standard container.

- 2. Empty containers will be deposited in the hall designed for that purpose. The use of market stalls for that purpose is prohibited.

Article 42. - 1. All wholesalers will display their products for sale in the stalls during selling hours, for the due regulation and transparency of the Market.

- 2. The storage of products in cold stores or other warehouses in the market area, official or private, is subject to the rules of the Market by-laws, which expressly require the entry and exit of each product to be declared as per the instructions provided.

CHAPTER IV - WORKS AND INSTALLATIONS

Article 44. - 1. Without permission from the Service Management Company, no works or installations may be undertaken in the Market stalls.

- 2. Should major works be advisable and in any case should they affect the structure and location of the stall, prior to permission being granted, a report must be made by the appropriate Technical Service. Article 45. - 1. Any works or installations in stalls or "places" that remain permanently affixed to the floor, walls or other structural elements, will immediately become the property of the Mixed Enterprise.

- 2. Works or installations will be considered permanently affixed when they cannot be separated from floors, walls or other structural elements without breaking or deteriorating the latter.

Article 46. - The costs of new works and improvements carried out by the Mixed Enterprise and considered necessary to provide better services, after consulting the Advisory Committee, will be charged to the users concerned at a rate proportional to the benefits they receive upon completion.

Article 47. - The exclusive occupant of a market space must consent to any works to be carried out, whether they concern the common services and the road infrastructure or the necessary conditioning of service operations.

Article 48. - 1. If, as a result of the works mentioned in the previous article, a licensed stall-holder is partly or totally prevented from exercising his activity, the fee he pays will be reduced in proportion to the disturbance caused.

- 2. The Management will quantify the exact amount of the said reduction.

Article 49. - If, due to circumstances referred to in articles 47 and 48, a stall-holder is partly deprived of the use of his stall, the minimum quantity referred to in article 39 will be reduced in proportion to the space and time lost in the exercise of his activities.

CHAPTER V - TARIFFS

Article 50. - 1. The different users of the Market will pay the fees established in the tariffs in force. Payments will be made at the times and conditions indicated by the Management Company in the provisions made by these by-laws for each service.

- 2. They will also make a deposit in a form determined by the Mixed Company for the exercise of their activity.

CHAPTER VI - CLEANLINESS

Article 51. - 1. Persons or entities holding a stall or “place” in the market, or providing complementary services will be obliged to see to the cleanliness of the spaces or installations they occupy and to deposit refuse in the places or containers indicated for easy collection within the appointed hours. The cleanliness of alleys, green spaces, parking areas and other areas and installations not included above is the responsibility of the Mixed Enterprise.

- 2. Every market user is obliged to collect the refuse generated as a consequence of his activities in places of public transit.

Article 52. - Refuse includes:

a) matter collected in normal cleaning procedures;
b) organic left-overs, both solid and liquid;
c) unusable or throwaway containers, packaging or wrappers.

- 2. Liquid refuse as well as any inflammable, corrosive, infectious or harmful waste-products will be stored by those concerned and removed by the Cleaning Service in sealed containers sufficiently robust to avoid that the product may leak or evaporate.

- 3. The Cleaning Service is exempt from the obligation to collect any left-overs, rubbish or remnants that are not considered refuse as per the previous article.

CHAPTER VII - SANITARY INSPECTION

Article 55. - All the foodstuffs stored, handled and sold in the Market, stalls and complementary structures, “places” and such-like, as well as the containers and vehicles related to the trade and transport in this activity are subject to sanitary inspection.

Article 56. - 1. The Sanitary Inspection Service of the Central Market for Fruit and Vegetables is the responsibility of the Municipality of Barcelona, and will be carried out by the appropriate technical officers.

- 2. The Service is responsible for the following:

a) testing the sanitary state of foodstuffs;
b) inspecting the conditions of hygiene in the Market stalls, installations and premises;
c) confiscating and, if necessary, destroying foodstuffs that do not meet consumer requirements;
d) formally reporting on the inspections carried out;
e) optionally reporting the results of inspections and tests carried out.

- 2. If any buyer makes a complaint about the state of products purchased, the Inspector will decide as to whether the complaint is appropriate or not. If it is, and at the claimant’s request, he will make a certified report so that the claimant may justify his right to compensation from the seller.

- 3. If the latter does not agree with the Inspector’s report, he may, at his own expense, designate another private Veterinary expert.

- 4. Differences that may arise between the opinions of the experts will be settled provisionally by the Director of the Municipal Veterinary Services under his responsibility and be communicated to the

Delegate of the Food Supply Services, who will resolve the matter.

- 5. For complaints to be attended to they will have to be lodged before the goods are removed from the Market and be accompanied by the bill of sale.

Article 58. - Sellers will not be able to refuse produce Inspections or confiscations for justifiable reasons.

Article 59. - There will be no trade in the Market of products the Inspection has judged hygienically unsuitable for human consumption, which shall be destroyed to avoid consumption.

Article 60. - No goods that are partly spoilt shall be offered for sale or handled without prior sanitary inspection to determine the causes and the degree of the spoilage, the quality grading of the products and whether they may be traded for industrial or other purposes.

Article 61. - The veterinary staff will keep a register where they shall record daily the confiscations made during their inspections, giving the origin, grade and weight of the products, the name of the seller and the necessary data for an exact identification of the service provided.

Article 62. - In the same way, it is the duty of the wholesalers of Fruit and Vegetables whose goods are confiscated for not meeting consumer standards of hygiene to transport the confiscated products to the site designated by the Management Company for this purpose within the confines of the Food Centre.

Article 63. - 1. All the Service’s interventions will be recorded in a report which will give a detailed account of the inspections, especially the methods, the number and form of samples taken and all the data required for the best results of the interventions.

CHAPTER VIII - OFFENCES AND SANCTIONS

Article 64. - The Market users will be responsible for any infringement of these by-laws committed by them, their family or their employees.

Article 65. - Minor offences:

a) arguments or disputes that do not create scandal;
b) negligence with regard to the bearing or cleanliness of persons and stalls;
c) disregard for instructions issued by the Management;
d) single incidents of bad or unconventional behaviour;
e) insufficient supplies, except if justified, and unauthorized closure of stands for one to three days;
f) any other infringement of these by-laws not considered a serious offence.

a) repetition of any minor offence;
b) arguments or disputes that cause scandal within the Market;

c) blatant disregard for the Management’s provisions or orders;

d) insulting the Director or Market staff by word or deed;

e) modifications to the structure or installations of the market stalls without permission;

f) causing damage, wilfully or through negligence, to the buildings, stall or installations;

g) defrauding on the quantity or quality of goods sold;

h) attempting to sell or selling to unauthorized persons;

i) falsifying data in the documentation that must be given to the Enterprise regarding entry, exit and sale of products;

j) not presenting the above-mentioned documentation or presenting incomplete documentation;

k) not giving buyers the receipt for operations;

l) subletting stalls;

ll) transfer or cession of license or lease without fulfilling the established procedures;

m) unauthorized closure of the market stalls for more than three days without justification;

n) infringement of cleanliness provisions as indicated in Chapter VI if this seriously affects the hygiene of the goods or the market.

Article 68. - Penalties to be applied are:

A - Penalties for minor offences:

a) admonition;
b) fine of 50 to 250 pesetas. B - Penalties for serious offences:
a) fine of 250 to 500 pesetas;
b) suspension of sales on the stall for up to 30 days;
c) reduction of up to a quarter of the duration of the license;
d) cancellation or withdrawal of the license.

Article 71. - 1. The imposition of penalties is the duty of the Mayor, at the request of the Market Management or the Mixed Enterprise, depending on whether the offences are minor or serious respectively.

- 2. Except in the case foreseen in the following article, the Mixed Enterprise, as the managing body of the market, will initiate the appropriate proceedings with a hearing of the offender.

- 3. The imposition of penalties for minor offences, when these are proven will not require legal proceedings.

Article 72. - When the offence committed appears, to the Mixed Enterprise, as warranting the withdrawal of the offender’s license to exercise his activity, the managing body of the Market will communicate the fact to the Municipality, with an account of the event and a full report, for the Municipal administration to initiate directly the appropriate proceedings and impose the relevant penalty.

Article 73. - Offences that must be sanctioned by authorities other than the Municipality will be brought to their attention for them to initiate proceedings.

ADDITIONAL PROVISION

The present by-laws may be subject to periodic revisions every three years, though modifications may be made at any moment and adopted on the basis of experience gained, following the same process for their approval as is applied in this instance.