8.6.2002 Official Journal of the European Communities L 150/45 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 982/2002 of 7 June 2002 laying down the marketing standards for cultivated mushrooms THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu- nity, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 of 28 October 1996 on the common organisation of the market in fruit and vegetables (), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 545/2002 (3, and in particular Article 2(2), Whereas: (1) Cultivated mushrooms are among the products listed in Annex [ to Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 for which stand- ards must be adopted. To that end, and in the interest of preserving transparency on the world market, account should be taken of the standard for cultivated mush- rooms recommended by the Working Party on Stand- ardisation of Perishable Produce and Quality Develop- ment of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). 2)  Application of these standards should remove products of unsatisfactory quality from the market, bring produc- tion into line with consumer requirements and facilitate trade based on fair competition, thereby helping to improve profitability. (3)  The standards are applicable at all marketing stages. Long-distance transport, storage over a certain period and the various processes the products undergo may cause some degree of deterioration owing to the biolo- gical development of the products or their perishable nature. Account should be taken of such deterioration when applying the standard at the marketing stages following dispatch. (4)  As products in the ‘Extra’ class have to be particularly carefully sorted and packaged, only lack of freshness and turgidity is to be taken into account in their case. (5)  The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 The marketing standard for cultivated mushrooms of genus Agaricus falling within CN code 0709 51 00 shall be as set out in the Annex. The standard shall apply at all marketing stages under the conditions laid down in Regulation (EC) No 2200/96. However, at stages following dispatch, products may show, in relation to the requirements of the standard, a slight lack of freshness and turgidity; products graded in classes other than the ‘Extra’ class may show in addition slight deteriorations due to their development and their tendency to perish. Article 2 This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities. It shall apply from 1 January 2003. This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Brussels, 7 June 2002. () OJL 297, 21.11.1996, p. 1. () OJ L 84,28.3.2002, p. 1. For the Commission Franz FISCHLER Member of the Commission