ECE/TRADE/C/WP.7/GE.2/2011/INF.10 23 June 2011

1. ECE/TRADE/C/WP.7/GE.2/2011/INF.1023 June 2011 Economic Commission for Europe Committee on Trade Working Party on Agricultural Quality Standards Specialized Section on Standardization of Dry and Dried Produce Fifty- eighth session Geneva, 27-30 June 2011 Item 6 (a) of the provisional agenda New UNECE Standards Comments Submitted by Mexico/June 2011 The following draft Explanatory Brochure for Whole Dried Chilli Peppers has been submitted by the delegation of Mexico.

2. UNECE STANDARD WHOLE DRIED CHILLI PEPPERS Submitted by MEXICO

3. I. DEFINITION OF PRODUCE This Standard applies to whole dried chilli peppers of varieties (cultivars) grown from Capsicum annuum L., intended for direct consumption or for food when they are intended to be mixed with other products for direct consumption without further processing. This Standard does not apply to whole dry chilli peppers for industrial processing.

4. I. DEFINITION OF PRODUCE Commercial types of whole dried chilli peppers include: ancho, de árbol, guajillo, mulato, pasilla and puya.

5. I. DEFINITION OF PRODUCE WHOLE DRIED CHILI PEPPERS PASILLA GUAJILLO PUYA ANCHO MULATO DE ARBOL

6. II. PROVISIONS CONCERNING QUALITY A. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

7. II. PROVISIONS CONCERNING QUALITY • MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS • intact; however, slight superficial damage is not considered as a defect; • sound; produce affected by rotting or deterioration such as to make it unfit for consumption is excluded.

8. II. PROVISIONS CONCERNING QUALITY • MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS (cont.) • clean, practically free of any visible foreign matter; • sufficiently developed and with attached peduncle; • shape and colour characteristic of chilli types, in accordance with section “D. Colour” ; PASILLA GUAJILLO PUYA ANCHO MULATO DE ARBOL

9. II. PROVISIONS CONCERNING QUALITY • MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS (cont.) • free from living pests whatever their stage of development; • free from damage caused by pests, including the presence of dead insects and/or mites, their debris or excreta; • free from blemishes, areas of discolouration or spread stains in pronounced contrast with the rest of the produce affecting in aggregate not more than 5 per cent of the surface of the produce.

10. II. PROVISIONS CONCERNING QUALITY • MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS (cont.) • free from mould filaments visible to the naked eye; • free of abnormal external moisture; • free of foreign smell and/or taste. • The condition of the whole dried chillies must be such as to enable them: • to withstand transportation and handling; • to arrive in satisfactory condition at the place of destination.

11. II. PROVISIONS CONCERNING QUALITY B. MOISTURE CONTENT The whole dried chilli peppers shall(should) have different moisture content depending on the type, based on the following designations.

12. II. PROVISIONS CONCERNING QUALITY C. CLASSIFICATION In accordance with the defects allowed in section “IV. Provisions concerning tolerances”, whole dried chilli peppers are classified into the following class(es): “Extra” Class, Class I and Class II The defects allowed must not affect the general appearance of the produce as regards quality, keeping quality and presentation in the package.

13. II. PROVISIONS CONCERNING QUALITY Mx additional information (ONLY EXPLANATORY) C. CLASSIFICATION EXTRA CLASS: Dry chillies in this class must be of superior quality. They must be characteristic of the variety and/or commercial type as regards development, shape and colour. They must be free from defects with the exception of very slight superficial defects provided that do not affect the general appearance of the produce, the quality, the storage quality and presentation in the package. CLASS I: Dry chillies in this class must be of good quality. They must be characteristic of the variety and/or commercial type. However, some slight defects in shape, in colour or skin could be allowed. CLASS II: This class includes dry chillies that do not qualify for inclusion in the higher classes, but satisfy the minimum requirements specified above. They must be characteristic of the variety and/or commercial type. Defects in shape, colour or skin could be allowed.

14. II. PROVISIONS CONCERNING QUALITY C. CLASSIFICATION Mx additional information (ONLY EXPLANATORY) GUAJILLO DRY CHILLI EXTRA CLASS I CLASS II NOT ALLOWED

15. II. PROVISIONS CONCERNING QUALITY C. CLASSIFICATION Mx additional information (ONLY EXPLANATORY) ANCHO DRY CHILLI NOT ALLOWED EXTRA CLASS I CLASS II

16. II. PROVISIONS CONCERNING QUALITY C. CLASSIFICATION Mx additional information (ONLY EXPLANATORY) MULATO DRY CHILLI NOT ALLOWED EXTRA CLASS I CLASS II

17. II. PROVISIONS CONCERNING QUALITY C. CLASSIFICATION Mx additional information (ONLY EXPLANATORY) PASILLA DRY CHILLI NOT ALLOWED EXTRA CLASS I CLASS II

18. II. PROVISIONS CONCERNING QUALITY C. CLASSIFICATION Mx additional information (ONLY EXPLANATORY) PUYA DRY CHILLI NOT ALLOWED EXTRA CLASS I CLASS II

19. II. PROVISIONS CONCERNING QUALITY C. CLASSIFICATION Mx additional information (ONLY EXPLANATORY) DE ARBOL CHILLI NOT APLICABLE NOT ALLOWED EXTRA CLASS I CLASS II

20. II. PROVISIONS CONCERNING QUALITY D. COLOUR [Colour requirement for whole dried chillies is mandatory, depending on the commercial type, based on the colours defined below:]

21. II. PROVISIONS CONCERNING QUALITY [ E. PUNGENCY Mx proposal to Table 3 Verification of pungency is optional. In case of verification, pungency must be reportedanalyzed in the Scoville scale and analyzed by HPLC1 methods. According to its pungency. The commercial types are characterizedclassifiedas is shown belowby the following complying with the next parameters: TABLE 3] [1]The Scoville scale is a system to measure the pungency in chillies. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) can also be used to measure content of capsaicin in chillies.

22. II. PROVISIONS CONCERNING QUALITY [ E. PUNGENCY (cont) Mx. Proposal of addition ANNEX III: LEVELS OF PUNGENCY [1]The Scoville scale is a system to measure the pungency in chillies. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) can also be used to measure content of capsaicin in chillies.

23. III. PROVISIONS CONCERNING SIZING Sizing of whole dried chilli peppers is mandatory for “Extra” Class and Class I. Size is determined by the length (measured from the apex of the fruit without considering the peduncle).

24. III. PROVISIONS CONCERNING SIZING PASILLA GUAJILLO PUYA ANCHO MULATO DE ARBOL

25. III. PROVISIONS CONCERNING SIZING Uniformity in size is determined according to the following table: (TABLE 4)

26. IV. PROVISIONS CONCERNING TOLERANCES • Tolerances in respect of quality and size shall be allowed in each lot for produce not satisfying the requirements of the class indicated. • A. QUALITY TOLERANCES

27. IV. PROVISIONS CONCERNING TOLERANCES A. QUALITY TOLERANCES

28. V. PROVISIONS CONCERNING PRESENTATION A. UNIFORMITY The contents of each package must be uniform and contain only whole dried chilli peppers of the same origin, quality, colour, size (if sized) and commercial type. The visible part of the contents of the package must be representative of its entire contents. B. PACKAGING Whole dried chilli peppers must be packed in such a way as to protect the produce properly. The materials used inside the package must be 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. Packages must be free of all foreign matter in accordance with the table of tolerances in section “IV. Provisions concerning tolerances”.

29. V. PROVISIONS CONCERNING PRESENTATION

30. VI. PROVISIONS CONCERNING MARKETING 18. Each package must bear the following particulars in letters grouped on the same side, legibly and indelibly marked and visible from the outside6: 6Package units of produce prepacked for direct sale to the consumer shall not be subject to these marking provisions, but shall conform to national requirements. However, the markings referred to shall in any event be shown on the transport packaging containing such package units.

31. VI. PROVISIONS CONCERNING MARKETING • IDENTIFICATION • Packer and/or Dispatcher: Name and physical address (e.g. street/city/region/postal code and, if different from the country of origin, the country) or a code mark officially recognized by the national authority7. • 7The national legislation of a number of countries requires the explicit declaration of the name and address. However, in cases where a code mark is used, the reference “packer and/or dispatcher” (or equivalent abbreviations) must be indicated in close connection with the code mark, and the code mark should be preceded by the ISO 3166 alpha country code of the recognizing country, if not the country of origin.

32. VI. PROVISIONS CONCERNING MARKETING • B. NATURE OF PRODUCE • “whole dried chilli peppers” • name of the commercial type • method of drying (optional) • C. ORIGIN OF PRODUCE • country of origin and, optionally, district where grown or national, regional or local place name. • D. COMMERCIAL SPECIFICATIONS • class • size (if sized; expressed in accordance with section III) • “best before” followed by the date (optional). • E. OFFICIAL CONTROL MARK (OPTIONAL)

33. VI. PROVISIONS CONCERNING MARKETING