The Vegetable Seed (England) Regulations 2002

PART IV LABELLING OF PACKAGES OF OFFICIALLY CERTIFIED BASIC AND CS SEED

Official label for a package of officially certified basic or CS seed

9.  Subject to paragraph 31, the package shall be labelled, not later than the time of sealing, on the outside with an official label which has not previously been used containing the following particulars —

(a) the words “EC rules and standards”;

(b) the name of the certifying authority and member State or their commonly used initials;

(c) the reference number of the lot;

(d) the month and year of sealing or the month and year of the last official sampling for the purposes of certification, expressed respectively as follows —

(i) by the word “Sealed” followed by the month and year of sealing, or

(ii) by the word “Sampled” followed by the month and year of last official sampling for the purposes of certification;

(e) the species, indicated at least in Roman characters —

(i) under its botanical name, which may be given in abridged form and without the author’s name; or

(ii) under its common name; or

(iii) under both;

(f) the variety, indicated at least in Roman characters;

(g) the category;

(h) the country of production;

(i) the declared net or gross weight or declared number of seeds;

(j) where weight is indicated and granulated pesticides, pelleting substances or other solid additives are used, the nature of the additives and also the approximate ratio between the weight of pure seeds and the total weight;

(k) in the case of —

(i) basic seed which is a component of a hybrid variety and the component has been officially accepted on a National List or the Common Catalogue, the name under which the component has been officially accepted, with or without reference to the hybrid variety, accompanied, in the case of a component intended solely as a component for a hybrid variety, by the word “component”;

(ii) basic seed which is a component of a hybrid variety and the component has not been officially accepted on a National List or the Common Catalogue, the name of the component, which may be given in code form, accompanied by a reference to the final variety, with or without reference to its function (male or female) and accompanied by the word “component”; and

(iii) CS seed which is a hybrid, the name of the variety accompanied by the word “hybrid”.

10.  Where at least germination has been retested, the words “retested” followed by the month and year of retesting and the authority responsible for such retesting may be indicated on the official label referred to in paragraph 9 or on an official sticker attached to the official label.

11.  Subject to paragraph 32, a reference to any maintenance of the variety may be included on the official label referred to in paragraph 9.

12.  The minimum size of the label referred to in paragraph 9 shall be 110 mm x 67 mm.

13.  The label referred to in paragraph 9 shall be coloured white for basic seed and blue for CS seed.

14.  The label referred to in paragraph 9—

(a) shall be —

(i) an adhesive label, or

(ii) a label secured to the package by a sealing device approved by the Secretary of State, the Scottish Ministers, the National Assembly for Wales or the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, and

(b) shall be fixed to the package by —

(i) an authorised officer or any person being supervised by such a person, or

(ii) in a case where the package is being relabelled, by a licensed seed sampler or any person being supervised by such a person.

Supplier’s label for a small package of officially certified CS seed

15.  The package shall be labelled —

(a) subject to paragraph 31, on the outside;

(b) with a label, a printed notice or stamp containing the following information —

(i) the words “EC rules and standards”;

(ii) the name and address of the supplier responsible for affixing the label or his identification mark;

(iii) the marketing year of sealing or the marketing year of last examination of germination, which may be given by reference to the end of the marketing year;

(iv) a reference number which enables the seed lot reference number of the seed lot from which the seed in the package has been taken to be identified;

(v) the species, indicated at least in Roman characters;

(vi) the variety, indicated at least in Roman characters;

(vii) the words “certified seed” or the letter “C” or “Z”;

(viii) the declared net or gross weight or declared number of seeds except in the case of a small package of seed not exceeding 500 grams in weight; and

(ix) where weight is indicated and granulated pesticides, pelleting substances or other solid additives are used, the nature of the additives and also the approximate ratio between the weight of pure seeds and the total weight.

16.  Subject to paragraph 32, a reference to any maintenance of the variety may be included on the label, printed notice or stamp referred to in paragraph 15.

17.  The label, notice or stamp referred to in paragraph 15 shall be coloured blue.