5476

THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE

No. 227

6. Provisions Concerning Quality—The purpose of this standard is to define the quality requirements for cherries at the dispatching stage, after preparation and packing.

(a) The cherries must be:
—free from pests and diseases and meet any quarantine and other legal requirements of the importing country;
—intact, whole fruit;
—sound;
—clean;
—reasonably well formed—typical of variety and not more than slightly misshapen;
—free from abnormal external moisture; and
—free of foreign smell or taste.

(b) The cherries must have been carefully picked and of a similar degree of maturity and colouring in the same line of produce. They must have matured sufficiently to complete the ripening process and be able to withstand handling, storage and transport to meet the market requirements at the place of destination.

(c) The cherries must be of good quality and have characteristics typical of the particular variety. The following may be accepted:
—A slight defect in shape or development;
—A slight defect in colouring.

The cherries must be free of defects such as burns, cracks, bruises and hail damage which;
(i) may significantly impair the general appearance or keeping quality of the fruit, or;
(ii) are likely to make the fruit unattractive to the purchaser.

7. Provisions Concerning Sizing—Sizing is determined by the maximum diameter of the equatorial section. The minimum size allowed for export is 20 mm.

8. Provisions Concerning Presentation:
   (a) Uniformity
   The contents of each package must be uniform; each package must contain only cherries of the same origin, variety, quality, degree of ripeness and size.
   The visible part of each package must be representative of the entire contents.

(b) Packaging:
The cherries must be packed in such a way as to ensure that they are suitably protected.
The materials, and particularly the paper 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 and particularly of paper or stamps bearing trade specifications is allowed provided that the printing or labelling has been done with a non-toxic ink or glue.
Packages must be free of all foreign matter.

9. Provisions Concerning Marking—Each package must bear the following particulars in letters grouped on the same side, legibly and indelibly marked and visible from the outside:
   —Identification—registered mark of grower or packing establishment and exporter’s identification;
   —Nature or produce—kind and variety;
   —Country of origin—New Zealand;
   —Packing date code—registering the date of packing;
   —Commercial Specification—grade, count or size.

Labels, if used must not be less than 40 square centimetres.

FIRST SCHEDULE
DEFINITION OF TERMS
“Clean” means free from dirt, dust, insect stains or other foreign substance or material;
“Count” means the number of fruit contained in any package;
“Mature”, in relation to fruit, means that the fruit will properly complete the ripening process and is suitable for export;
“To pack” means to arrange fruit regularly and compactly in a package so that they are not loose or compressed to an extent likely to cause damage to the fruit during handling or transport;
“Sound” means free from decay, rots, overmaturity, breakdown, freezing injury, damage and similar defects which may cause rapid loss of condition or rapid decay;
“Storage defects” means decay, storage scald, fungal rots, wilt, or other injury to fruit as a result of storage.

SECOND SCHEDULE
GRADE REQUIREMENTS FOR EUROPEAN MARKETS

1. Some European countries are members of the OECD Scheme for the International Standardisation of Fruit and Vegetables and as such NZMAF is required to supply an OECD Control Certificate stating that the produce conforms to the OECD scheme’s grade standards.

2. Before exporting cherries to a European country, exporters should check with a Regional Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries office to ascertain if the importing country requires a control certificate, and obtain a copy of the OECD grade standards.

Notwithstanding clause 2 of this Schedule it is the responsibility of the exporter to ensure that produce exported meets the legal requirements of the importing country and the specifications of the importer.

GENERAL INFORMATION
THE following explanatory notes do not form part of this standard grade, but are presented for the information of growers/exporters.

1. In order to certify produce fit for export a certifying officer may require information from the exporter to the effect that the property on which the fruit was produced has been registered for export. It is the responsibility of the exporter to obtain this information from the Executive officer of the New Zealand Stonefruit Export Council.

2. To assist with the interpretation of “sound” fruit that has not been exported within 18 days of harvest will be considered unsound.

3. Growers and Exporters must ensure that fruit is kept under optimum storage conditions between harvest and dispatch.

4. Cherry varieties maturing before Pellisier or Dawson should not be exported to Australia as it is considered that they would not be able to withstand handling and meet the market requirements.

Dated at Wellington this 28th day of November 1984.

M. L. CAMERON,
Director-General of Agriculture and Fisheries.

*S.R. 1975/57

Standard Grade for the Export of Butternut Squash (Notice No. 3401; Ag. 12/2/14)

PURSUANT to the New Zealand Grown Fruit and Vegetables Regulations 1975*, the Director-General of Agriculture and Fisheries hereby gives notice that the Standard Grade for the Export of Butternut Squash shall be set out in this notice.

NOTICE

1. Title—(1) This notice may be cited as the Standard Grade for the Export of Butternut Squash Notice 1984.
   (2) This notice shall come into force on the day after the date of its notification in the New Zealand Gazette.

2. Interpretation—Unless the context otherwise requires, terms and expressions used in this notice shall have the same meaning as in the New Zealand Grown Fruit and Vegetables Regulations 1975*. Certain of these terms and expressions as applicable to butternut squash are defined in the First Schedule to this notice.

3. Application of Notice—This notice determines the standard grade for the export of butternut squash from New Zealand. The uniformity of sizing requirements as set out in 7 shall only apply to butternut squash exported to those countries listed in the Third Schedule to this notice.

4. Title and Grade—The grade mark assigned to this standard grade shall be Class 1 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the grade’).

5. Definition of Produce—This grade applies to butternut squash grown from varieties of Cucurbita maxima to be supplied fresh to the consumer, butternut squash for industrial processing being excluded.

6. Provisions Concerning Quality—The purpose of this standard is to define the quality requirements for butternut squash at the dispatching stage, after preparation and packaging.