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Council Regulation (EEC) No 1907/90 of 26 June 1990 on certain marketing standards for eggs

Council Regulation (EEC) No 1907/90 of 26 June 1990 on certain marketing standards for eggs

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2771/75 of 29 October 1975 on the common organization of the market in eggs(1), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1235/89(2), and in particular Article 2 (2) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

  1. Whereas Regulation (EEC) No 2771/75 provides for the setting of marketing standards which may relate in particular to grading by quality and weight, packing, warehousing, transport, presentation and marking of eggs;

  2. Whereas such standards can contribute to an improvement in the quality of eggs and, consequently, facilitate their sale: whereas it is therefore in the interest of producers, traders and consumers that marketing standards should be applied in respect of hen eggs suitable for human consumption;

  3. Whereas Regulation (EEC) No 2772/75(3) laid down certain marketing standards for eggs; whereas those standards need to be reviewed regularly in order to provide better guarantees and more accurate information to the ultimate consumer of eggs, in particular in the light of evolving trade practices;

  4. Whereas experience with the existing standards and consultation of both trade and consumers' representative organizations have made apparent the need for further amendments and for certain detailed rules to be adopted in accordance with Article 17 of Regulation (EEC) No 2771/75 in order to facilitate future amendments;

  5. Whereas in order to fix such standards a clear distinction must be drawn between eggs suitable for human consumption and eggs, in particular broken or incubated eggs, which are not, and which, in principle, are for use in industries other than the food industry; whereas such rules also require that eggs of other kinds should not be mixed with hen eggs;

  6. Whereas the standards must be applicable to all hen eggs marketed on the territory of the Community; whereas it nonetheless seems advisable to exclude from the scope of their application certain forms of sale from producer to consumer where small quantities are involved; whereas, moreover eggs delivered from the place of production to a packing centre or to certain wholesale markets and eggs intended for use in the food industry should be exempted from grading and marking;

  7. Whereas, therefore, a list should be drawn up of suppliers to undertakings entitled to grade eggs by quality and weight;

  8. Whereas the grading of eggs should be confined solely to undertakings which are adequately equipped for the purpose;

  9. Whereas the quality requirements for eggs must be easy for consumers to undertand and must be in keeping with the efforts at rationalization made at all stages of distribution; whereas, therefore, a limited but adequate number of quality and weight grades should be laid down;

  10. Whereas the consumer must be able to distinguish between eggs of different quality and weight grades; whereas this requirement can be met by marking the eggs and packs;

  11. Whereas it is necessary to determine the indications that may or must be used on packs; whereas the use of certain optional indications must be subject to detailed rules to be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 17 of Regulation (EEC) No 2771/75;

  12. Whereas the marking of ‘fresh eggs’ can be optional, since the obligatory marking of other eggs enables them to be easily distinguished;

  13. Whereas anyone marketing ‘fresh eggs’ should be permitted to stamp such eggs with other particulars serving publicity purposes;

  14. Whereas it is desirable that operators should be permitted to stamp certain indications already provided for in the case of small packs directly on eggs; whereas the use of these indications should be made subject to conditions analogous to those provided for in the case of packs, as well as to rigorous surveillance; whereas in the case of eggs intended for loose sales, the grading date should replace the packing date;

  15. Whereas any other markings might affect trading conditions in the Community;

  16. Whereas the definitions laid down in previous Community Regulations relating to the packaging and manner of presentation for sale of eggs need to be drafted more strictly; whereas it has become essential to provide the necessary safeguards for the retail sale of eggs without special packaging;

  17. Whereas experience has demonstrated that the present provisions only allowing the use of the recommended date for sale in addition to the obligatory packing date on eggs or their packaging are too inflexible; whereas provision therefore needs to be made for the possibility of using certain other dates under appropriate conditions; whereas present practice shows that the indication of the packing period can be dispensed with;

  18. Whereas such common provisions should be adopted for packing as will ensure that the quality of the eggs is maintained and will facilitate trade and the supervision of compliance with standards;

  19. Whereas in order to leave a choice open to the consumer and to ensure that he is offered goods complying with quality and weight standards, retailers must display the appropriate information either on the goods offered or beside them;

  20. Whereas it is essential, in the interests of both producer and consumer, that eggs imported from third countries should comply with Community standards;

  21. Whereas special provisions in force in certain third countries may justify derogations which in such cases allow exportation outside the Community; whereas it seems appropriate to exclude from the scope of Community standards eggs imported from third countries or exported to third countries in small quantities, by the consumer for his personal use;

  22. Whereas it is for each Member State to designate the agency or agencies responsible for supervision; whereas the procedures for such supervision must be uniform;

  23. Whereas it is also for each Member State to lay down penalties for infringements;

  24. Whereas the provisions of this Regulation are without prejudice to any Community provisions which may be adopted in order to harmonize the provisions of veterinary and foodstuffs legislation aimed at protecting the health of people and animals and at preventing falsification and fraud;

  25. Whereas, given the above substantive amendments and the need for a number of other purely textual amendments to Regulation (EEC) No 2772/75, it is advisable for the sake of clarity to re-draft the legislation applicable in this field;

  26. Whereas, therefore, Regulation (EEC) No 2772/75 may be repealed,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

For the purposes of this Regulation:

  1. ‘eggs’ means hen eggs in shell, suitable for direct human consumption or for use in the food industries, except for broken eggs, incubated eggs and cooked eggs;

  2. ‘industrial eggs’ means hen eggs in shell other than those referred to in paragraph 1, including broken eggs and incubated eggs but excluding cooked eggs;

  3. ‘eggs for hatching’ means eggs intended for chick production as specified in the rules concerning eggs for hatching;

  4. ‘broken eggs’ means eggs showing breaks of both the shell and the membranes, resulting in the exposure of their contents;

  5. ‘cracked eggs’ means eggs with a damaged, but unbroken shell, but with intact membranes;

  6. ‘incubated eggs’ means eggs from the time of insertion in the incubator;

  7. ‘marketing’ means holding or displaying for sale, offering for sale, selling, delivery or any other form of marketing;

  8. ‘collector’ means any person authorized by the competent authorities to collect eggs from a producer for delivery:

    1. to a packing centre:

    2. to a market selling exclusively to wholesalers whose undertakings are approved as packing centres; or

    3. to industry;

  9. ‘packing centre’ means an undertaking authorized by the competent authority to grade eggs by quality and weight;

  10. ‘batch’ means the eggs from one and the same packing centre, situated in one place, in packs or loose, with one and the same date of minimum durability or packing date as well as the same quality and weight gradings;

  11. ‘large packs’ means packs, open cases or containers, containing more than 36 eggs;

  12. ‘small packs’ means packs or wrappings, but not unwrapped trays, containing 36 eggs or less;

  13. ‘loose sales’ means the offer for retail sales of eggs, other than in large or small packs.

Article 2

1.

Eggs shall not be marketed with the Community by way of business or trade unless they satisfy the provisions of this Regulation.

2.

However, the provisions regarding grading and marking shall not apply to eggs:

  1. transported directly from the place of production to a packing centre or to a market selling exclusively either to wholesalers whose undertakings are approved as packing centres in accordance whose undertakings are approved as packing centres in accordance with Article 5, or, for processing, to food industry undertakings approved in accordance with Council Directive 89/437/EEC of 20 June 1989 on hygiene and health problems affecting the production and the placing on the market of egg products(4) and to the non-food industry;

  2. produced in the Community and delivered for processing to food industry undertakings approved in accordance with Directive 89/437/EEC and to the non-food industry.

3.

This Regulation shall not apply to:

  • eggs sold directly to the consumer for his own use, by the producer on his own farm, in a local public market with the exception of auction markets, or by door-to-door selling,

  • eggs, excluding cracked eggs, sold to the local retailer by the producer in the specific regions of Finland referred to in Annex II,

provided that the eggs come from the producer's own production and are not packed in accordance with Articles 10, 11 and 12 and that use is not made of any of the quality and weight gradings laid down in this Regulation.

The list of regions of Finland contained in Annex II may be reduced in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 17 of Regulation (EEC) No 2771/75.

However, eggs sold by the producer on a local public market shall carry the code defined in Article 7(1)(a). Member States may exempt producers of eggs whose holding does not exceed 50 laying hens from this requirement, provided that those eggs are sold on a local public market in the region of production of the Member State concerned and that the name and address of the holding are indicated at the place of sale.

4.

This Regulation shall not affect any provisions concerning veterinary and health matters and foodstuffs laid down to ensure compliance with the hygiene and health standards applicable to the products or to protect animal or public health.

Article 3

Eggs as defined in Article 1 (1) may not be mixed with eggs of other kinds.

Article 4

1.

Without prejudice to Article 2, producers may not deliver:

  1. eggs to anyone but collectors, packing centres, markets within the meaning of Article 2 (2) (a), food industry undertakings approved in accordance with Directive 89/437/EEC and the non-food industry;

  2. industrial eggs, excluding incubated eggs, to anyone but packing centres or industry, with the exception of the food industry;

  3. incubated eggs to anyone but rendering plants or industry, with the exception of the food industry.

2.

Eggs broken accidentally in packing centres may only be delivered to the processing industry, with the exception of the food industry.

Article 5

Article 6

Article 7

Article 8

Article 9

Article 10

Article 11

Article 12

Article 13

Article 14

Article 15

Article 16

Article 17

Article 18

Article 19

Article 20

Article 21

Article 22

Article 22a

Article 23

Article 24

ANNEX

ANNEX II