Tomatoes

Ian Hewett

Horticultural Marketing Inspectorate

United Kingdom

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Tomatoes

• This Standard applies to aubergines grown from Solanum lycopesicum to be supplied fresh to the consumer.

• Tomatoes for industrial being excluded.

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Tomatoes• Tomatoes may be classified into four

commercial types:

• "round",• "ribbed",• "oblong"

or "elongated",• "cherry" tomatoes

(including "cocktail" tomatoes).

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Tomatoes

• And be presented on the vine or loose:

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Minimum Requirements• Intact,• Sound, produce affected by rotting or deterioration

such as to make it unfit for consumption is excluded,

Alternaria and Phytophthera

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Minimum Requirements• clean, practically free of any visible foreign

matter

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Minimum Requirements• practically free from pests,• free from damage caused by pests affecting the

flesh,

Tuta absoluta

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Minimum Requirements

• fresh in appearance,

• free of abnormal external moisture,

• free of any foreign smell and/or taste.

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Extra Class

• Superior quality• Firm and characteristic of the variety• Have only very slight superficial defects

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Skin Defects

• Class I - Slight skin defects

Class II - Skin defects allowed, provided the fruit is not seriously affected

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Skin Defects

• Skin defects seriously affecting the fruit• (the same fruit rotated)

• Not acceptable

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Skin Defects Botrytis Ghost spotting

Class I – up to two small spots

Class II – overall appearance not affected

Out of grade – overall appearance affected

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Skin Defects

• Class I Class II Out of grade

Stalk puncture

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Healed Cracks

• Class II Out of grade

Class I – None allowed

Class II - Healed cracks not more than 3cm in length for round, ribbed or oblong tomatoes

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Healed Cracks

• Fine cracking• Class II

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Healed Cracks

• Beef tomato• Healed crack limit 3cm• Class II

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Cracks

• Beef tomato• Out of grade - not healed

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Defects in colouring

Colour defects caused by virus:

Class II

Out of Grade

Pepino mosaic virus

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Sizing

• Size can be determined by the maximum diameter (or size code), by weight or by count.

• Sizing does not apply to trusses of tomatoes or to cherry tomatoes nor to Class II tomatoes.

• Uniformity requirements apply to tomatoes packed in the same package and a size code can be applied to if desired.

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Presentation• Uniformity - The ripeness and colouring in Extra Class

and Class I must be practically uniform

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Quality Tolerances

• Extra Class:

• 5% by number or weight not satisfying the requirements of the class but meeting those for Class I is allowed. Within this tolerance not more than 0.5% in total may consist of produce satisfying the requirements of Class II quality.

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Quality Tolerances

• Class I:

• 10% by number or weight not satisfying the requirements of the class but meeting those for Class II is allowed. Within this tolerance not more than 1% in total may consist of produce satisfying neither the requirements of Class II quality nor the minimum requirements or of produce affected by decay.

• For trusses of tomatoes 5% may be detached from the stalk.

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Quality Tolerances

• Class II:

• 10% by number or weight satisfying neither the requirements for the class nor the minimum requirements is allowed. Within this tolerance not more than 2% in total may consist of produce affected by decay.

• For trusses of tomatoes 10% may be detached from the stalk.

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Labelling

• Name/address of packer/dispatcher• ‘Tomatoes’, ‘Tomatoes on trusses’• ‘Cherry’ or ‘Cocktail’• Mixture of tomatoes • Country of origin• Class • Size min./max. diameter (if sized)