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DEFINITION
OF PRODUCE |
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THIS STANDARD
APPLIES TO COMMERCIAL VARIETIES OF ORANGES GROWN FROM CITRUS SINENSIS (L.)
OSBECK, OF THE RUTACEAE FAMILY, TO BE SUPPLIED FRESH TO THE CONSUMER, AFTER
PREPARATION AND PACKAGING. ORANGES FOR INDUSTRIAL PROCESSING ARE EXCLUDED. |
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PROVISIONS
CONCERNING QUALITY |
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· MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS o
IN ALL CLASSES, SUBJECT
TO THE SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR EACH CLASS AND THE TOLERANCES ALLOWED, THE
ORANGES MUST BE: § WHOLE; § SOUND, PRODUCE AFFECTED BY ROTTING OR
DETERIORATION SUCH AS TO MAKE IT UNFIT FOR CONSUMPTION IS EXCLUDED; § CLEAN, PRACTICALLY FREE OF ANY VISIBLE FOREIGN
MATTER; § PRACTICALLY FREE OF PESTS AFFECTING THE GENERAL
APPEARANCE OF THE PRODUCE; § PRACTICALLY FREE OF DAMAGE CAUSED BY PESTS; § FREE OF ABNORMAL EXTERNAL MOISTURE, EXCLUDING
CONDENSATION FOLLOWING REMOVAL FROM COLD STORAGE; § FREE OF ANY FOREIGN SMELL AND/OR TASTE; § FREE OF DAMAGE CAUSED BY LOW AND/OR HIGH
TEMPERATURES; § FREE OF DAMAGE CAUSED BY FROST; § FREE OF SIGNS OF INTERNAL SHRIVELING; § PRACTICALLY FREE OF BRUISING AND/OR EXTENSIVE
HEALED-OVER CUTS. |
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o
THE ORANGES MUST HAVE
REACHED AN APPROPRIATE DEGREE OF DEVELOPMENT AND RIPENESS ACCOUNT BEING TAKEN
OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VARIETY, THE TIME OF PICKING AND THE AREA IN
WHICH THEY ARE GROWN. § TO WITHSTAND TRANSPORT AND HANDLING; § TO ARRIVE IN SATISFACTORY CONDITION AT THE PLACE
OF DESTINATION. |
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· MATURITY CRITERIA o
THE MATURITY OF ORANGES
IS DEFINED BY THE FOLLOWING PARAMETERS: o
COLOURING; o
COLOURING; MINIMUM
JUICE CONTENT, CALCULATED IN RELATION TO THE TOTAL WEIGHT OF THE FRUIT AND
AFTER EXTRACTION OF THE JUICE BY MEANS OF A HAND PRESS. |
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· COLOURING o
THE DEGREE OF COLOURING
SHALL BE SUCH THAT, FOLLOWING NORMAL DEVELOPMENT, THE ORANGES REACH THEIR
NORMAL VARIETY COLOUR AT THEIR DESTINATION POINT, ACCOUNT BEING TAKEN OF THE
TIME OF PICKING, THE GROWING AREA AND THE DURATION OF TRANSPORT. o
THE DEGREE OF COLOURING
SHALL BE SUCH THAT, FOLLOWING NORMAL DEVELOPMENT, THE ORANGES REACH THEIR
NORMAL VARIETY COLOUR AT THEIR DESTINATION POINT, ACCOUNT BEING TAKEN OF THE
TIME OF PICKING, THE GROWING AREA AND THE DURATION OF TRANSPORT. |
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· MINIMUM JUICE CONTENT :- o
BLOOD ORANGES – 30% o
NAVELS GROUP – 33% o
OTHER VARIETIES – 35% o
VARIETIES MOSAMBI,
SATHGUDI AND PACITAN WITH MORE THAN ONE-FIFTH GREEN COLOUR – 33% o
OTHER VARIETIES WITH
MORE THAN ONE-FIFTH GREEN COLOUR – 45% |
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· CLASSIFICATION ORANGES ARE CLASSIFIED IN THREE
CLASSES DEFINED BELOW: o
“EXTRA” CLASS ORANGES
IN THIS CLASS MUST BE OF SUPERIOR QUALITY. IN SHAPE, EXTERNAL APPEARANCE,
DEVELOPMENT AND COLOURING, THEY MUST BE CHARACTERISTIC OF THE VARIETY AND/OR
COMMERCIAL TYPE. THEY MUST BE FREE OF DEFECTS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF VERY
SLIGHT SUPERFICIAL DEFECTS, PROVIDED THESE DO NOT AFFECT THE GENERAL
APPEARANCE OF THE PRODUCE, THE QUALITY, THE KEEPING QUALITY AND PRESENTATION
IN THE PACKAGE. o
CLASS I ORANGES IN THIS
CLASS MUST BE OF GOOD QUALITY. THEY MUST BE CHARACTERISTIC OF THE VARIETY
AND/OR COMMERCIAL TYPE. THE FOLLOWING SLIGHT DEFECTS, HOWEVER, MAY BE
ALLOWED, PROVIDED THESE DO NOT AFFECT THE GENERAL APPEARANCE OF THE PRODUCE,
THE QUALITY, THE KEEPING QUALITY AND PRESENTATION IN THE PACKAGE: § SLIGHT DEFECT IN SHAPE; § SLIGHT DEFECT IN COLOURING; § SLIGHT SKIN DEFECTS OCCURRING DURING THE FORMATION
OF THE FRUIT, SUCH AS SILVER SCURFS, RUSSETS,ETC.; § SLIGHT HEALED DEFECTS DUE TO A MECHANICAL CAUSE
SUCH AS HAIL DAMAGE, RUBBING, DAMAGE FROM HANDLING, ETC. o
CLASS II THIS CLASS
INCLUDES ORANGES WHICH DO NOT QUALIFY FOR INCLUSION IN THE HIGHER CLASSES,
BUT SATISFY THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS SPECIFIED IN SECTION 2.1 ABOVE. THE
FOLLOWING DEFECTS, HOWEVER, MAY BE ALLOWED, PROVIDED THE ORANGES RETAIN THEIR
ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS AS REGARDS THE QUALITY, THE KEEPING QUALITY AND
PRESENTATION: § DEFECT IN SHAPE; § DEFECT IN COLOURING; § SKIN DEFECTS OCCURRING DURING THE FORMATION OF THE
FRUIT, SUCH AS SILVER SCURFS, RUSSETS, ETC.; o
HEALED DEFECTS DUE TO A
MECHANICAL CAUSE SUCH AS HAIL DAMAGE, RUBBING, DAMAGE FROM HANDLING, ETC.; § ROUGH SKIN; § SUPERFICIAL HEALED SKIN ALTERATIONS; § SLIGHT AND PARTIAL DETACHMENT OF THE PERICARP. |
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PROVISIONS
CONCERNING SIZING |
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SIZE IS DETERMINED
BY THE MAXIMUM DIAMETER OF THE EQUATORIAL SECTION OF THE FRUIT, IN ACCORDANCE
WITH THE FOLLOWING TABLE: |
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SIZE CODE |
DIAMETER (MM) |
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0 |
92-110 |
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1 |
87-100 |
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2 |
84-96 |
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3 |
81-92 |
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4 |
77-88 |
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5 |
73-84 |
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6 |
70-80 |
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7 |
67-76 |
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8 |
64-73 |
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9 |
62-70 |
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10 |
60-68 |
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11 |
58-66 |
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12 |
56-63 |
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13 |
53-60 |
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· ORANGES MAY BE PACKED BY COUNT. IN THIS CASE,
PROVIDED THE SIZE UNIFORMITY REQUIRED BY THE STANDARD IS RETAINED, THE SIZE
RANGE IN THE PACKAGE MAY FALL OUTSIDE A SINGLE SIZE CODE, BUT WITHIN TWO
ADJACENT CODES. |
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· UNIFORMITY IN SIZE IS ACHIEVED BY THE ABOVE
MENTIONED SIZE SCALE, UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED, AS FOLLOWS: o
FOR FRUIT ARRANGED IN
REGULAR LAYERS IN THE PACKAGE, INCLUDING UNIT CONSUMER PACKAGES, THE MAXIMUM
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SMALLEST AND THE LARGEST FRUIT, WITHIN A SINGLE SIZE
CODE OR, IN THE CASE OF ORANGES PACKED BY COUNT, WITHIN TWO ADJACENT CODES,
MUST NOT EXCEED THE FOLLOWING MAXIMA: |
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SIZE CODE |
MAXIMUM DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FRUIT IN THE SAME PACKAGE IN MM |
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0 TO 2 |
11 |
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3 TO 6 |
9 |
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7 TO 13 |
7 |
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FOR FRUIT NOT
ARRANGED IN REGULAR LAYERS IN PACKAGES AND FRUIT IN INDIVIDUAL RIGID PACKAGES
FOR DIRECT SALE TO THE CONSUMER, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SMALLEST AND THE
LARGEST FRUIT IN THE SAME PACKAGE MUST NOT EXCEED THE RANGE OF THE
APPROPRIATE SIZE GRADE IN THE SIZE SCALE, OR, IN THE CASE OF ORANGES PACKED
BY COUNT, THE RANGE IN MM OF ONE OF THE TWO ADJACENT CODES CONCERNED. |
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FOR FRUIT IN BULK
BINS AND FRUIT IN INDIVIDUAL NON-RIGID (NETS, BAGS) PACKAGES FOR DIRECT SALE
TO THE CONSUMER, THE MAXIMUM SIZE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SMALLEST AND THE
LARGEST FRUIT IN THE SAME LOT OR PACKAGE MUST NOT EXCEED THE RANGE OBTAINED
BY GROUPING THREE CONSECUTIVE SIZES IN THE SIZE SCALE. |
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PROVISIONS CONCERNING TOLERANCES |
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TOLERANCES IN
RESPECT OF QUALITY AND SIZE SHALL BE ALLOWED IN EACH PACKAGE FOR PRODUCE NOT
SATISFYING THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE CLASS INDICATED. |
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· QUALITY TOLERANCES :- o
“EXTRA” CLASS FIVE
PERCENT BY NUMBER OR WEIGHT OF ORANGES NOT SATISFYING THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE
CLASS, BUT MEETING THOSE OF CLASS I OR, EXCEPTIONALLY, COMING WITHIN THE
TOLERANCES OF THAT CLASS. o
CLASS I TEN PERCENT BY
NUMBER OR WEIGHT OF ORANGES NOT SATISFYING THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE CLASS, BUT
MEETING THOSE OF CLASS II OR, EXCEPTIONALLY, COMING WITHIN THE TOLERANCES OF
THAT CLASS. o
CLASS II TEN PERCENT BY
NUMBER OR WEIGHT OF ORANGES SATISFYING NEITHER THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE CLASS
NOR THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF PRODUCE AFFECTED BY
ROTTING OR ANY OTHER DETERIORATION RENDERING IT UNFIT FOR CONSUMPTION. WITHIN
THIS TOLERANCE, A MAXIMUM OF 5% IS ALLOWED OF FRUIT SHOWING SLIGHT
SUPERFICIAL UNHEALED DAMAGE, DRY CUTS OR SOFT AND SHRIVELLED FRUIT. o SIZE TOLERANCES FOR ALL CLASSES, 10% BY NUMBER OR
WEIGHT OF ORANGES CORRESPONDING TO THE SIZE IMMEDIATELY ABOVE AND/OR BELOW
THAT INDICATED ON THE PACKAGE. THE 10% TOLERANCE ONLY APPLIES TO FRUIT WHOSE
DIAMETER IS NOT LESS THAN 50 MM. |
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PROVISIONS
CONCERNING PRESENTATION |
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UNIFORMITY THE
CONTENTS OF EACH PACKAGE MUST BE UNIFORM AND CONTAIN ONLY ORANGES OF THE SAME
ORIGIN, VARIETY AND/OR COMMERCIAL TYPE, QUALITY AND SIZE, AND APPRECIABLY OF
THE SAME DEGREE OF RIPENESS AND DEVELOPMENT. THE VISIBLE PART OF THE CONTENTS
OF THE PACKAGE MUST BE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ENTIRE CONTENTS. IN ADDITION,
UNIFORMITY OF COLOURING IS REQUIRED FOR “EXTRA” CLASS. |
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PACKAGING 1 ORANGES
MUST BE PACKED IN SUCH A WAY AS TO PROTECT THE PRODUCE PROPERLY. THE
MATERIALS USED INSIDE THE PACKAGE MUST BE NEW , CLEAN, AND OF A QUALITY SUCH
AS TO AVOID CAUSING ANY EXTERNAL OR INTERNAL DAMAGE TO THE PRODUCE. THE USE
OF MATERIALS, PARTICULARLY OF PAPER OR STAMPS BEARING TRADE SPECIFICATIONS IS
ALLOWED, PROVIDED THE PRINTING OR LABELLING HAS BEEN DONE WITH NON-TOXIC INK
OR GLUE. ORANGES SHALL BE PACKED IN EACH CONTAINER IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE
RECOMMENDED INTERNATIONAL CODE OF PRACTICE FOR PACKAGING AND TRANSPORT OF
FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES (CAC/RCP 44-1995). |
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DESCRIPTION OF
CONTAINERS THE CONTAINERS SHALL MEET THE QUALITY, HYGIENE, VENTILATION AND
RESISTANCE CHARACTERISTICS TO ENSURE SUITABLE HANDLING, SHIPPING AND
PRESERVING OF THE ORANGES. PACKAGES MUST BE FREE OF ALL FOREIGN MATTER AND
SMELL. |
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· PRESENTATION :- o
THE ORANGES MAY BE
PRESENTED AS FOLLOWS: o
ARRANGED IN REGULAR
LAYERS IN THE PACKAGE. THIS FORM OF PRESENTATION IS MANDATORY FOR “EXTRA”
CLASS AND OPTIONAL FOR CLASSES I AND II; o
NOT ARRANGED IN
PACKAGES. THIS TYPE OF PRESENTATION IS ONLY ALLOWED FOR CLASS I AND II; o IN INDIVIDUAL PACKAGES FOR DIRECT CONSUMER SALE OF
A WEIGHT LESS THAN 5 KG, EITHER MADE UP BY NUMBER OR BY WEIGHT OF FRUIT. |
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MARKING OR
LABELLING |
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CONSUMER PACKAGES
IN ADDITION TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE CODEX GENERAL STANDARD FOR THE
LABELLING OF PREPACKAGED FOODS (CODEX STAN 1-1985), THE FOLLOWING SPECIFIC
PROVISIONS APPLY: |
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NATURE OF PRODUCE
IF THE PRODUCE IS NOT VISIBLE FROM THE OUTSIDE, EACH PACKAGE (OR LOT FOR
PRODUCE PRESENTED IN BULK) SHALL BE LABELLED AS TO THE NAME OF THE PRODUCE
AND MAY BE LABELLED AS TO THE NAME OF THE VARIETY AND/OR COMMERCIAL TYPE. |
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NON-RETAIL
CONTAINERS EACH PACKAGE MUST BEAR THE FOLLOWING PARTICULARS, IN LETTERS
GROUPED ON THE SAME SIDE, LEGIBLY AND INDELIBLY MARKED, AND VISIBLE FROM THE
OUTSIDE, OR IN THE DOCUMENTS ACCOMPANYING THE SHIPMENT |
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IDENTIFICATION NAME
AND ADDRESS OF EXPORTER, PACKER AND/OR DISPATCHER. IDENTIFICATION CODE
(OPTIONAL). |
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NATURE OF PRODUCE 3
2 . NAME OF THE PRODUCE IF THE CONTENTS ARE NOT VISIBLE FROM THE OUTSIDE.
NAME OF THE VARIETY AND/OR COMMERCIAL TYPE (OPTIONAL) . |
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ORIGIN OF PRODUCE
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN AND, OPTIONALLY, DISTRICT WHERE GROWN OR NATIONAL, REGIONAL
OR LOCAL PLACE NAME. |
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· COMMERCIAL IDENTIFICATION :- o
CLASS; o
SIZE CODE FOR FRUIT
PRESENTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SIZE SCALE OR THE UPPER AND THE LOWER
LIMITING SIZE CODE IN THE CASE OF THREE CONSECUTIVE SIZES OF THE SIZE SCALE; o
SIZE CODE (OR, WHEN
FRUIT PACKED BY COUNT FALL UNDER TWO ADJACENT CODES, SIZE CODES OR MINIMUM
AND MAXIMUM DIAMETER IN MM) AND NUMBER OF FRUIT, IN THE CASE OF FRUIT
ARRANGED IN LAYERS IN THE PACKAGE; o
IF APPROPRIATE, A
STATEMENT INDICATING THE USE OF PRESERVATIVES; o NET WEIGHT (OPTIONAL). |
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CONTAMINANTS |
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THE PRODUCE COVERED
BY THIS STANDARD SHALL COMPLY WITH THE MAXIMUM LEVELS OF THE CODEX GENERAL
STANDARD FOR CONTAMINANTS AND TOXINS IN FOOD AND FEED (CODEX STAN 193-1995). |
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THE PRODUCE COVERED
BY THIS STANDARD SHALL COMPLY WITH THE MAXIMUM RESIDUE LIMITS FOR PESTICIDES
ESTABLISHED BY THE CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION. |
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HYGIENE |
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IT IS RECOMMENDED
THAT THE PRODUCE COVERED BY THE PROVISIONS OF THIS STANDARD BE PREPARED AND
HANDLED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE APPROPRIATE SECTIONS OF THE RECOMMENDED
INTERNATIONAL CODE OF PRACTICE – GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF FOOD HYGIENE (CAC/RCP
1-1969), CODE OF HYGIENIC PRACTICE FOR FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES (CAC/RCP
53-2003), AND OTHER RELEVANT CODEX TEXTS SUCH AS CODES OF HYGIENIC PRACTICE
AND CODES OF PRACTICE. |
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THE PRODUCE SHOULD
COMPLY WITH ANY MICROBIOLOGICAL CRITERIA ESTABLISHED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE
PRINCIPLES FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT AND APPLICATION OF MICROBIOLOGICAL CRITERIA
FOR FOODS (CAC/GL 21-1997). |
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