APPENDIX XI
PROPOSED DRAFT CODE OF PRACTICE FOR THE QUALITY INSPECTION
AND CERTIFICATION OF FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

(At Step 5)

This Code only applies to inspection and certification with reference to Codex standards for fresh fruit and vegetables.

1. GENERAL RULES

1.1 Designation

The national official or officially recognized services for the quality inspection and certification of export/import produce are responsible for ensuring any quality certificates issued by them are reliable and accurately reflect the requirements of the Codex standard for that produce, whose quality standard has been accepted by the Government in question, in line with the acceptance procedure of the Codex Procedural Manual. The Government may delegate this authority.

1.2 Produce Affected

Without prejudice to subsequent extensions or restrictions, the inspection will apply to CCFFV standardized produce exported from, or imported into, the country in question whose quality standard has been accepted by its Government.

1.3 Quality Standard for International Trade

The standards applicable for export and import inspection and certification shall be those presently or subsequently drawn up by the CCFFV and accepted by the Government in question, together with those determined and approved by other international standardization bodies which have been expressly accepted and adopted by the Codex Commission.

The inspection and certification of export and import quality in reference to any Codex Standard shall not take place until the produce has a Codex standard which has been accepted and, where appropriate, officially promulgated by the country in question.

1.4 Control and Implementation of Inspection

For exports or imports, the inspection and certification of the quality of the produce may be conducted:

1.4.1 At the point of origin of the product: This may be the packing house or other location as long as a suitable facility is available to conduct the inspection; or,

1.4.2 At the destination or receiving point: The inspections may be conducted at terminals, airports, railway stations, ports, border facilities or other locations where adequate facilities are available to conduct the inspection. If such facilities are not available, the product must be taken to the nearest possible place where the inspection can be made without interference.

1.5 Inspection Request

The exporter and/or importer shall be obliged, directly or through representatives and in a timely manner, to request the Service to inspect the produce by completing a copy of the appropriate official document. This should include as much data as is needed to facilitate identification of the produce. In addition, the exporter and/or importer should contact the Inspection Service of the importing country prior to the arrival of the product so that adequate arrangements can be made for import inspection.

1.6 Certification and Acknowledgment of Notification

The Service shall issue an official quality certificate declaring that the produce is fit for export only when the produce has been physically inspected according to the provisions laid down in the following paragraphs of this Code.

Otherwise, and whatever the reasons for which the Service fails to issue certification, it will issue an Acknowledgment of Notification or a Certificate of Non-Conformity.

The format of both documents will be that officially authorized by Codex for international use.

Customs clearance at import shall not be effected without the prior submission of one or other document duly processed by the national service responsible for import quality control.

In the case of imports, the Certificate of Control or the Acknowledgment of Notification issued by the Service in the exporting country should be presented so that its operational status may be recognized by the Service of the importing country.

1.7 Sampling

The inspection will be based on random samples representing the whole consignment, in the form and within the limits established to this effect by the Guide for the Quality Control of Fresh Fruit and Vegetables adopted by Codex (see Annex I).

1.8 Laboratory Analysis

In cases where the quality control of the produce involves a laboratory analysis requiring a certain period of time, the produce should be submitted for inspection sufficiently in advance to avoid possible delays in clearance.

1.9 Appeal Inspection

If the produce is rejected by either import or export inspection services, the interested party or his representative may request an appeal inspection in writing which will be effected, whenever possible, within the following 24 hours and before the departure of the means of transport.

In the case of companies using quality assurance systems, the company must be able to demonstrate to the national service or officially recognized body how the product has been re-sorted, repacked or otherwise reconditioned to allow the national service or officially recognized body to issue a certificate of quality inspection.

1.10 Refusal of Produce

Produce declared unfit for consumption shall be removed from the inspection site as soon as possible.

Produce rejected from import or export shall be held for twenty-four hours in the place of inspection, unless there is some form of guarantee that it will not be improperly cleared from customs.

Produce rejected from import or export shall be subject, as appropriate, to declassification, relabelling or reclassification in the preparation and packaging plant to eliminate the grounds for rejection, where possible.

Results of appeal inspections shall be considered the final determination unless the produce is re-sorted, repacked or otherwise re-conditioned. In such a case, the applicant may ask for another inspection, which will not be considered an appeal inspection.

In the case of companies using quality assurance systems the company must be able to demonstrate to the national service the system used by the company to isolate or reject failed product and detail how the company will assure the national service or officially recognized body that this product will not be exported unless relabelled or reclassified in accordance with paragraph 3 of this clause.

1.11 Clearance of the Produce

The inspection shall not be considered complete until final clearance. In the case that reconditioning is allowed, the applicant should be allowed sufficient time to recondition the product for final clearance, bearing in mind the perishability of the produce.

2. INSPECTION PROCEDURE

2.1 Inspection in Production, Preservation and Distribution Centers

The technical staff of the inspection service or officially recognized body may conduct [pre-inspection], inspections or audits in the production, preservation and distribution centers as appropriate, to facilitate the inspection and certification process. The inspection service should have adequate means to perform their tasks.

2.2 Inspection in Stations of origin and Transit

The inspection and/or control of the produce shall take place in the stations of origin and transit within the national territory, both for the complete consignments and during the loading and unloading operations¹.

Wagons, containers, trucks or other means of transport shall be sealed following authorization to export, or other means of identification of the inspected lot shall be applied.

A further inspection may be conducted when the Service considers that the lapse of time between inspection and departure of the means of transport is such that the quality or condition of the produce may have deteriorated.

¹ Some countries apply mandatory control at export.

2.3 Inspection at Ports, Airports and Borders

Produce arriving without having been controlled or without a quality control certificate will be subject to the treatment described in the previous paragraph.

Produce accompanied by a control certificate for quality shall normally only be subject to further inspection in one of the following circumstances:

• Breakage of the seal (if seal has been used).
• Transshipment: the consignment shall be identified and sealed in the relaying means of transport.
• Exceptional circumstances or evidence suggesting modifications to the initial characteristics of the produce or the lot.

ANNEX I

CODEX COMMITTEE ON FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

GUIDE FOR THE QUALITY CONTROL OF FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

1. DEFINITIONS

1.1 Quality control of fresh fruits and vegetables

Inspection carried out by national or officially recognized quality control services to check the conformity of fresh fruit and vegetables with the quality standards.

1.2 Quality inspector:

Authorized person of an official or officially authorized quality control service who has appropriate and regular training enabling him/her to undertake quality inspection.

1.3 Consignment:

Quantity of produce from one dispatcher found at the time of inspection and defined by a document. The consignment may consist of one or several types of produce; it may contain one or several lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.

1.4 Lot:

Quantity of produce which, at the time of inspection at one place, has similar characteristics with regard to:

• packer and/or dispatcher
• country of origin
• nature of produce
• class of produce
• size (if the produce is graded according to size)
• variety or commercial type (according to the relevant provisions of the standard)
• type of packaging and presentation.

However, if during the inspection of consignments (see 1.3) it is not possible to distinguish between the different lots and/or the presentation of individual lots is not possible, all lots of a specific consignment may be treaded as one lot if they are similar in regard to type of produce, dispatcher, country of origin, quality class and, variety or commercial type, if this is provided for in the standard.

1.5 Sampling:

Collective sample taken temporarily from a lot during quality control.

1.6 Primary sample:

Package taken from the lot or, in the case of bulk produce, a quantity taken from a point in the lot.

1.7 Bulk sample:

Several representative individual samples taken from the lot whose quantity is sufficient to allow the assessment of the lot with regard to all criteria.

1.8 Reduced sample:

Representative quantity of produce taken from bulk sample whose size is sufficient to allow the assessment of certain individual criteria. Several reduced samples may be taken from a bulk sample.

2. IMPLEMENTATION OF QUALITY CONTROL

2.1 General remarks:

Quality control shall take place by assessing bulk samples taken at random from the lots to be inspected. It is based on the principle of presumption that the quality of the produce conforms to the quality of the bulk sample.

2.2 Place of control:

Quality control may be carried out at the point of dispatch, during transport, or at the import point.

2.3 Presentation of produce:

The exporter or the representative shall inform the Quality Control Service whenever a consignment is to be exported.

The quality inspector decides which lots are to be inspected. The presentation shall be made by the person authorized to do so or his representative. The procedure shall include a presentation of the bulk sample (see 2.5.3) as well as the supply of all information necessary for the identification of the consignment or lots.

If reduced samples are required to perform more detailed inspections, these are identified and selected by the quality inspector himself from the bulk sample.

2.4 Identification of lots and/or getting a general impression of the consignment

The identification of lots shall be carried out on the basis of their marking or other criteria. In the case of consignments which are made up of several lots, it is necessary for the quality inspector to get a general impression of the consignment with the aid of accompanying documents or declarations concerning the consignments. He then determines how far the lots presented comply with the information in these documents.

If the produce is to be or has been loaded onto a means of transport, the registration number of the latter shall be used for identification of the consignment.

2.5 Verification of the lot

2.5.1 Assessment of packaging and presentation on the basis of primary samples:

The packaging, including the material used within the package shall be tested for suitability and cleanliness according to the provisions of the quality standards. If only certain types of packaging are permitted, the quality inspector checks whether these are being used. If the individual standard includes provisions concerning presentation, their conformity is also checked.

2.5.2 Verification of marking on the basis of primary samples:

First, it is ascertained whether the produce is marked according to the quality standards. During inspection a checks is made on the accuracy of the marking and/or the extent of amendment required.

2.5.3 Sampling:²

The quality inspector shall determine the size of the bulk sample in such a way as to be able to assess the lots. He shall at random select the packages to be inspected or, in the case of bulk produce, the points of the lot from which individual samples shall be taken.

The bulk sample shall comprise of the following minimum quantities whenever a consignment is to be decided unsatisfactory:³

² Damaged packages will not be used as part of the bulk samples. They should be set-aside, and examined and reported separately if necessary.

³ However, participating country may experiment with another sampling method than that provided for in paragraph 2.5.3 if it has previously notified its intention to the Inspectorate concerned.

⁴ In the case of bulky fresh fruits and vegetables (over 2 kg per unit) the primary samples should be made up of at least five units.

If the quality inspector discovers after an inspection that a decision cannot be reached, he may carry out another inspection and express the overall results as an average of the two checks.

Certain criteria, such as the presence or absence of internal defects, may be checked on the basis of reduced samples; this applies in particular to control which destroys the trade value of the produce. The size of the reduced samples shall be restricted to the minimum quantity absolutely necessary for the assessment of the lot; if, however, defects are ascertained or suspected the size of the reduced sample shall not exceed 10 percent of the size of the bulk sample initially taken for the inspection.

2.6 Control of produce:

The produce has to be removed entirely from its packaging for the control; the quality inspector may only dispense with this if the type of packaging and the form of presentation allow an inspection of the contents without unpacking the produce. The inspection of uniformity, minimum requirements, quality classes and size shall be carried out on the basis of the bulk sample. In the case when defects are detected, the quality inspector shall ascertain the respective percentage of the produce not in conformity with the standard by number or weight. The results of each single sample examined shall be recorded on an official note sheet that will be attached to a copy of the inspection certificate and kept on file at an office of the officially authorized quality control body.

2.7 Report of control results:

According to the respective legal provisions of the individual countries and depending on the results of control, a report on the findings may be made in the form of a statement, a control certificate, a complaint, etc… For the report on the results of control, in cases of nonconformity, several lots may be taken together if these are uniform in regard to type of produce, sender, country of origin, quality class and variety or commercial type, if this is provided for in the standard.

If defects are found, the authorized person or his representative must be informed about the reasons of complaint. This information shall be made according to the legal provisions of the individual countries. If the compliance of produce with the standard is possible by a change in marking, the person authorized to sell it or his representative must be informed about it.

If defects are found in a product, the percentage found not to be in conformity with the standard may be indicated. This is not necessary if it is possible to achieve compliance with the standard by a change in the marking of the product.

The control services should develop and maintain a system of recording their inspection results as an official certificate should be completed for each inspection performed.

2.8 Non-conforming produce:

The authorized person, or his representative should ensure that there is no shipment of the non-conforming produce.

2.9 Decline in value by quality control:

After the control, the bulk sample is put at the disposal of the authorized person or his representative.

Unless legal provisions so specify, the Control Service is not bound to hand back the elements of the bulk sample destroyed during the control.

When quality control has been limited to the minimum required, no compensation (unless legal provisions so specify) can be claimed from the Control Service concerned if the commercial value of the produce has suffered a loss.

ANNEX II

INSPECTION SITE REQUISITES
(To be prepared)

ANNEX III

DRAFT CERTIFICATE OF QUALITY FOR FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

* When the produce is re-exported, indicate its origin after the nature of produce
** Optional
*** Delete as necessary
**** Duration of validity to point of exit of the exporting country (including days of inspection)

EXPLANATORY NOTES ON THE USE OF THE CONTROL CERTIFICATE

The following notes are intended to help inspectors to use the control certificate.

Box N⁰ 1 - Name and address of the exporter or exporting firm. An identification code issued or approved by the official service may also be used.

Box N⁰ 2 - Name and address or identification symbol marked on the package if different from that entered in section 1; if it is identical, there is no need to complete this section. When there are several packing agents, the entry “various” may be used.

Box N⁰ 3 - Title or acronym of the official national control service.

Box N⁰ 4 - Name of the producing country if the inspection takes place in that country. In the case of re-exported goods or goods of various (domestic and foreign) origins, the country of origin should be indicated in section 9, immediately after the nature of the produce; section 4 should be left blank or a line should be drawn through it.

Box N⁰ 5 - Name of country to which the produce is being sent. However, if the country of final destination is not yet known at the time of inspection - particularly in the case of transport by sea or air - this entry may be replaced by the indication “unknown”.

Box N⁰ 6 - Number of wagon, registration number of lorry, number of container, name of vessel (possibly indicating “by sea”) or “bay air”.

Box N⁰ 7 - Specify any national regulations relating to the export of the produce in question.

Box N⁰ 8 - Number and type of packages (boxes, trays, cartons, etc.). Specification of the type of package is optional.

Box N⁰ 9 - Type of produce (apples, peaches, etc.) followed by the name of the country of origin where produce is re-exported or is of various origins (national and foreign). Name of the variety (Golden Delicious, Dixired, etc.) when specified by the standard.

Box N⁰ 10 - Specify the quality class: EXTRA, I or II.

Box N⁰ 11 - Specify the total net or gross weight of the consignment as indicated on the weighing slip or consignment note.

Box N⁰ 12 - Customs office of departure: specify the place where the consignment must be cleared. This entry is optional.

• Duration of validity: specify the number of days for which the certificate is valid, i.e. up to the point of departure from the exporting country (including the day of inspection). The number of days is fixed by the competent national authorities on the basis of criteria specific to each country (nature of produce, season, place of production, etc.).

• Inspector: name of the person who inspects the consignment.

• Signature: signature of the person who inspects the consignment.

• Place and date of issue: place where the goods are inspected and date onwhich the certificate is issued.

Box N⁰ 13 - Reserved for any additional observations. The inspector should delete this box when no observations are entered.

ANNEX IV

DRAFT CERTIFICATE OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF NOTIFICATION FOR
FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

CERTIFICATE OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF NOTIFICATION

Certificate No

The above inspection office certifies that (name and address of company)

has notified it of the following consignment, prior to dispatch:

⁵ Delete as appropriate.