ANNEX VI QUALITY REQUIREMENTS FOR AID FOR PRIVATE STORAGE

Levels of radioactivity in the products eligible for aid for private storage may not exceed the maximum levels permitted, where applicable, under Union legislation. The level of radioactive contamination of the products shall be monitored only if the situation so requires, and during the requisite period.

I. Sugar

Sugar for which a tender or application is presented shall:

(a)

be white sugar in crystal form in bulk, or in big bags of 800 kg or more showing the net weight;

(b)

have a moisture content not exceeding 0,06 %.

Until the end of the 2016/2017 marketing year for sugar, it must have been produced within a quota of the marketing year in which the tender or application is made with the exclusion of white sugar withdrawn or carried forward.

II. Flax fibre

Aid shall only be granted for long flax fibre obtained by complete separation of the fibres and the woody parts of the stalk that are at least 50 cm long on average after scutching and are arranged in parallel strands in bundles, sheets or slivers and for which the minimum quantity for applications or tenders for aid is of 2 000 kg.

Long flax fibres shall be stored in bales on which may be encoded, where appropriate:

(a)

the number identifying the factory and the Member State of production;

(b)

the date of entry into storage;

(c)

the net weight.

III. Meat

Aid shall only be granted for:

(b)

carcasses of lambs less than 12 months old and cuts thereof;

(c)

meat from animals raised in the Union for a minimum period of the last three months in case of beef, two months in case of pigmeat and sheepmeat and goatmeat and slaughtered not more than 10 days before being placed in storage. In the case of pigs slaughtered younger than two months of age, the meat shall come from animals raised in the Union since their birth;

(d)

meat from animals that have been slaughtered in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 and Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council;

(e)

meat from animals with no characteristics rendering them unfit for storage or subsequent use;

(f)

meat from animals not slaughtered as a result of emergency measures;

(g)

meat in the fresh state and stored in the frozen state.

IV. Butter

Aid shall only be granted for butter:

(a)

with a minimum milkfat content, by weight, of 80 %, a maximum milk solids-non-fat content, by weight, of 2 % and a maximum water content, by weight, of 16 %;

(b)

produced during the 60 days preceding the day of application or the day of submission of the tender.

The packaging of the butter shall show the net weight. In addition, the rules on packaging of butter in Part II of Annex IV to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1240 shall apply, with the exception of the obligation to indicate the term ‘sweet cream’ where the butter has a pH of 6,2 or higher.

Compliance with the origin requirement can be substantiated by proof that the butter was produced in an undertaking approved in accordance with point 1(a), (b) and (c) of Part III of Annex IV to this Regulation, or by another appropriate proof issued by the competent authority of the Member State of production testifying compliance with that requirement.

Where the butter has been produced in a Member State other than the one in which the storage contract is concluded, the Member State of production shall provide such assistance as may be requested by the Member State in which the contract is concluded in order to verify the origin of the product.

V. Cheese

Aid shall only be granted for cheese benefiting from a protected designation of origin (PDO) or from a protected geographical indication (PGI) which on the day when the storage contract commences has a minimum age corresponding to the period of maturation laid down in the product specification referred to in Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council(2) for that cheese as it will be marketed after the storage under contract increased by the maturing period beyond this period that contributes to increasing the value of the cheese.

Where a period of maturation is not laid down in the product specification referred to in Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012, the cheese shall on the day when the storage contract starts have a minimum age corresponding to any period of maturation that contributes to increasing the value of the cheese.

Furthermore, the cheese shall comply with the following requirements:

(a)

it is indelibly marked with an indication, which may be encoded, of the undertaking in which it was manufactured and with the date of manufacture;

(b)

it is stored as whole cheese in the Member State where the cheese is produced and in which it qualifies to bear the PDO or PGI under Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012; and

(c)

it has not been the subject of a previous storage contract.

The storekeeper shall keep a register in which the particulars referred to in point (a) of the third paragraph are entered on the date of entry into store.

VI. Skimmed milk powder

Aid shall only be granted for skimmed milk powder:

(a)

which contains no more than 1,5 % fat and 5 % water and has a protein content of the non-fat dry matter of at least 34 %;

(b)

has been produced during the 60 days preceding the day of application or the day of submission of the tender;

(c)

which is stored in bags with a net weight of 25 kg or in ‘big bags’ weighing no more than 1 500 kg.

The bags shall show the net weight. In addition, the rules in points 2 and 3 of Part II of Annex V to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1240 on the delivery and packaging of skimmed milk powder shall apply, with the exception of the obligation to indicate the term ‘spray skimmed milk powder’ on the bags.

Compliance with the origin requirement can be substantiated by proof that the skimmed milk powder was produced in an undertaking approved in accordance with point 1(a), (b) and (c) of Part III of Annex V to this Regulation, or by another appropriate proof issued by the competent authority of the Member State of production testifying compliance with that requirement.

Where the skimmed milk powder has been produced in a Member State other than the one in which the storage contract is concluded, the Member State of production shall provide such assistance as may be requested by the Member State in which the contract is concluded in order to verify the origin of the product.