Standards also help you decide which fruit to buy, as they provide you with important information on their origin or size. Did you ever wonder what “Class I” or “Extra Class” means? This classification indicates that the producer respects production and trading practices that have been agreed in these standards.

Food standards are important not only to you, the consumer, who wants the best quality fruit. Standards are also essential to producers and sellers as they allow them to trade more easily. A buyer can order from a producer or trader on another continent and be confident to receive what was ordered; and this can be certified by national inspection agencies at export. When sellers and buyers are located in different countries, different sets of rules and standards might apply. Again, UNECE standards help make sure that the quality of the produce remains the same, regardless of the country in which they were grown.