The European fresh produce trade reviewed the reform of the marketing standards for fruit and vegetables in Berlin last week.

Frederic Rosseneu, food quality advisor for Freshfel Europe, led the presentations to analyse the impact of the reforms six months into the changes.

He called for an urgent impact assessment and insisted that the industry is still in a “transition phase”, in which there are “major discrepancies” in import procedures across Europe.

Rosseneu said: “When it was announced that products are to be of a sound, fair and of marketable quality, it was a dream come true for European marketers. Then it was decided that there would be a top 10 list of products…

“The simplification was meant to cut costs. At the same time, it was said that there was a lot of food waste as a result of grading, but no one could ever quantify how much was wasted as a direct result.

“It was clear there was a lot of confusion about what it was like on the ground… The political discussion concentrated on the number of the standards, rather than the actual standards.”

Since June 2009, a total of 27 specific marketing standards have been withdrawn in the EU and in some cases, new norms have been adopted.

An impact assessment is expected to be carried out by September or October.

However, Rosseneu called for procedures to be streamlined across member states and singled out the UK as a model example of how the system could work, “with just 10 products and certificates at a reasonable price”.

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