Animal Plant Health Agency
Fresh fruit and vegetables at all stages of production and marketing must meet quality and labelling requirements. These are called marketing standards.
The marketing standards also apply to salad crops, nuts and cultivated mushrooms.
Individuals and businesses at all stages of production and marketing must follow rules to meet marketing standards, including:
- packers
- growers
- distributors
- wholesalers
- retailers
- importers
- exporters
The 2 sets of marketing standards are the:
- Specific Marketing Standard (SMS) for 10 types of fresh produce
- General Marketing Standard (GMS) for most other fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts and herbs
If youre exporting goods that are covered by Specific Marketing Standards (SMS) from Great Britain you will need a certificate of conformity. Importing countries may occasionally ask for a certificate of conformity for GMS goods as well.
Specific Marketing Standard (SMS)
The SMS includes quality and labelling rules that your products must comply with at each stage of production and marketing.
The SMS applies to:
You must not sell SMS products that do not meet these requirements.
You must make sure your SMS products are graded based on their quality:
- extra class superior quality produce thats regular in shape and appearance with only very slight defects
- class I good quality produce that has minor defects to the skin or shape
- class II reasonably good quality produce that may have one or more defects such as some bruising, damage or change in colour
You can grade SMS products (apart from lettuce) as extra class if they meet the relevant requirements.
If you sell SMS products, you must check that the produce meets the class requirements.
If produce deteriorates, you should not sell it. If it meets the requirements for a lower quality class, change the labelling to display that class.
For more information on SMS quality requirements and defects allowed for different products:
- email peachenquiries@apha.gov.uk
- phone 0345 607 3224
Labelling requirements to meet the SMS
The label on all packages of SMS produce (including pre-packed produce) must include:
- quality class
- country of origin in full (do not use abbreviations or flags)
- variety or type (if required)
- size, weight range or number of items (see each standard for exact requirements)
- net weight or the number of items (unless the number can be clearly seen)
- the name and address of the grower or dispatcher, or an authorised code mark you can use an official grower or packer code number, the name and full address of the packer or dispatcher, or a global gap number (GGN)
If you require an official grower or pack code number, contact the Animal and Plant Health Agency Centre for International Trade (APHA CIT) on 0345 607 3224.
Loose SMS produce: labelling rules for retailers
You must display loose SMS produce with clear labelling showing the:
- country of origin in full (do not use abbreviations or flags)
- quality class
- variety or type (if required)
You can use terms such as local produce or home grown as well as the origin information (for example, Class I, locally grown English Braeburn apples). Do not use these terms on their own for country of origin information.
Examples of labelling you can use to show the variety of produce include:
- Granny Smith or Gala for apples
- Navel or Valencia for oranges
- Conference or Rocha for pears
- Italia or Crimson for table grapes
Examples of labelling you can use to show the type of produce include:
- satsuma or clementine for soft citrus fruit (easy peelers)
- white or yellow flesh for peaches and nectarines
- hot for sweet peppers
- cherry or cocktail for tomato