The quality criteria listed below apply to all species, varieties and cultivars that are supplied as plants intended for direct use by the consumer and are supplied and traded at auctions belonging to the Association of Dutch Flower Auctions (VBN) and the Rhein-Maas Auction.

All products traded at the auctions are intended exclusively for decorative purposes and are not intended for internal consumption unless otherwise expressly mentioned on the product. Incorrect application, consumption, contact with and/or sensitivity to the products can lead to harmful consequences for humans and/or animals.

These regulations have arisen in response to requirements regarding quality, grading, packing and descriptions. These requirements can only be diverged from if this is expressly agreed between the grower and buyer and if this agreement has been drawn up by the intermediary agency of a VBN auction. All products traded through the VBN auctions, without there being a specific agreement between grower and buyer, should meet the minimum requirements set out below.
If the products do not meet these requirements, they will not be traded and, where necessary, destroyed.

Minimum Requirements for Trade

External Quality

• The pot must be at least 90% filled with potting compost/substratum;
• Potting compost/substratum should not be hanging over the pot to any great degree;
• The root ball must meet the minimum moisture content requirements;
• The pot must be clean (only applies to house plants);
• The root ball must be root through;
• House plants intended as hanging plants should be supplied in a hanging pot with a dish and/or water reservoir and hanging options;
• Potted flower bulbs should have undergone treatment that guarantees good flowering;
• Flower bulbs must be firm in the pot.

Plants that do not meet this requirement will not be traded.

• The plant must show signs of growth;
• The plant must meet the minimum B1 quality requirements.

Plants that do not meet this requirement will be destroyed.

• Minimum maturity for flowering plants requires a well-developed inflorescence. This is photo stage 1 of the maturity stage photos per product group;
• Maximum maturity for flowering plants requires flowers to show no signs of ageing or dying off.
  Plants that do not meet this requirement will not be traded.

Edible Products

The rules given below apply to products that are suitable for consumption at the time of trading.

• Suppliers must be able to demonstrate that the legal requirements have been met and independent sampling has been ensured. The following are compliant:
  
  • Global Gap, Fruit and Vegetables;
  • A demonstrably comparable system.
• During trading the company’s certification must be visible. 
• During trading it must be clear that the plants are edible.
• ‘Edible plants or plant parts’ are specified with the quality code S77 ‘edible/not edible’. There are the following options:
  • Code 1 Suitable for human consumption
  • Code 2 Edible plant
  • Code 3 Edible fruits
  • Code 4 Edible flowers
  • Code 6 Produces edible fruits
    The supplier can also specify this visibly on the product information, using a stick-in or hanging label, a (printed) sleeve or a (printed) pot etc. 
• Products that are obviously edible (e.g. kitchen herbs) must not be traded as ‘not for human consumption’. These products may only be sold as ‘edible’ and must meet the applicable product requirements. 
• When they are being traded, edible products must comply with the set applicable European MRLs. Please refer to the EU Pesticides database website for the correct information. To find out whether a particular active substance has been authorised for use, please refer to the Board for the Authorisation of Plant Protection Products and Biocides website (College voor de toelating van gewasbeschermingsmiddelen en biociden, toelatingsinstantie voor Nederland,  www.ctgb.nl).

        Labelling

• The applicable EU mandatory labelling of the quality of vegetables and fruit applies to the following 8 edible plants:
  • Thyme
  • Basil
  • Melissa
  • Mint
  • Oregano/wild marjoram
  • Rosemary
  • Sage
  • Chive
• Mandatory labelling for food safety applies to other edible flowers/plants if the possibility exists of consumption at the moment of trading (e.g. ripe strawberries on a plant). 
• When intended for use as food and packaged as such (e.g. pot of chives in a sleeve, or set of 6 kitchen herbs), each unit (pot or set) must have a label that complies with the following requirements:
  • The label/the sticker is clearly visible;
  • Stick-in labels must be securely placed and clearly visible;
  • Name of the product is specified;
  • Country of origin is given (e.g. COO The Netherlands);
  • Name and address details of the packer/sender are stated on each individual sleeve/pot (just an e-mail address or URL is not permitted). It is recommended to include the GlobalGAP number as well. The name and address details of the packer/sender may be replaced by the name and address details of the seller (for example, a retailer or foreign buyer) in combination with the supplier's code of the packer/sender. This supplier's code must be known in advance by the KCB. 
• Products intended for use as a garden plant (e.g. for transplanting in the garden) do not have to be labelled. The plants must meet the other requirements for edible plants (Global GAP Fruit and Vegetables label or comparable label). 
• For the complete regulations, refer to the EU Regulation concerning the provision of food information (EU Regulation).

         Potentially edible products that are traded as ‘not for consumption’ 

• When trading ‘not edible products’ from a plant group that contains both edible and not edible products, the supplier must specify this with quality code S77 (edible/not edible) with code 9 = not for consumption. It is mandatory to display “not for consumption” visibly on the product in the product information, using a stick-in or hanging label, a (printed) sleeve or a (printed) pot, etc. An example of a potentially edible product that can be traded as not for consumption is Capsicum annuum (ornamental pepper).

Legal Provisions

• In order to be traded, supplied products should meet the legal requirements, including regulations drawn up by the NVWA (Netherlands Food & Consumer Product Safety Authority) in line with the EU phytosanitary guidelines.
• For products for which a plant passport is mandatory, the minimum requirement is that each plant or packaging unit must have a plant passport provided by the supplier. Specifically:
  • For clock supply at very least the smallest sales unit (e.g a tray) must be accompanied by a plant passport. In addition, every plant from pot sizes >10 cm must be accompanied by a plant passport*;
  • For direct trade at very least the smallest sales unit (e.g a tray) must be accompanied by a plant passport. In addition, every plant from pot sizes >10 cm must be accompanied by a plant passport, so that a plant passport is always present when they are distributed over several subdivided lots*. It is possible for the dealers/brokers to attach new plant passports to subdivided lots, but these dealers/brokers must be registered and authorised to do so by the inspectorate. And they must be able to guarantee the traceability to the original lot in their administration.
• Suppliers from the Netherlands must be registered by one of the inspectorates authorised by the NVWA (Nederlandse Voedsel en Waren Autoriteit; Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority): Naktuinbouw, KCB or BKD.
• Suppliers from other countries than the Netherlands are responsible themselves for ensuring that the plants that they supply but which are not cultivated in the Netherlands are accompanied by a plant passport. The organisation tasked with this by the relevant ministry in that country will conduct an inspection of the company in order to grant it permission to issue plant passports.

If products do not meet these requirements, they will not be traded.

*Auction Rhein-Maas does not have the obligation that every plant from pot sizes >10 cm must be accompanied by a plant passport (clock supply and direct trade).

Quality and Grading Criteria

Quality and Grading Criteria

Lots supplied to the auction are subject to the following requirements (in order to be traded as A1):

• The lot should be of good internal quality;
• The lot should be fresh;
• The lot should be hardened;The lot should be visually free of animal and/or plant parasites;
• The lot should be free of degradation and/or damage by animal and/or plant parasites;
• The lot should be free of damage, defects, divergence and/or contamination in:
  • flower/umbel/bud;
  • root/root system;
  • stalk/stem;
  • leaf/needle/thorn.
• The lot should have a good shape, structure, and flower and leaf colour;
• The plants must be strong and straight in the pot;
• The plants must have a good pot/plant ratio;
• The plants must be well rooted;
• The substratum supporting the plants must be sufficiently moist;
• Repotted or transplanted plants should have undamaged root balls. The new pots of transplanted plants should be at least as big as the original pot so that the root ball is not damaged;
• Climbing plants supplied as house plants must be:
  • well staked/supported, especially the tips of the tendrils. The tendrils may not have grown more than 25% above the support material (from the height of the support material), on condition that the tendrils are climbing strongly;
  • growing evenly around the support material;
  • have grown up at least 90% of the height.
• The lot should have a uniform colour and volume;
• The lot should be uniformly and correctly graded, including:
  • pot;
  • plant height;
  • plant diameter;
  • thickness;
  • maturity.
• The lot should be correctly and uniformly packed;
• If artificial additions have been made to the product (e.g. artificial flowers or berries), they must be explicitly labelled.

When a lot diverges from one or more of the stated requirements, the lot in question can be auctioned with a quality remark (and associated quality code). The seriousness of the deviation determines if the lot is traded without a quality remark, a minor quality remark or a major quality remark. A quality remark is awarded on the basis of the following overview.

Overview 1 quality remarks by divergence from the requirements

*for house plants the requirement regarding the presence of animal and/or plant parasites is ‘visually free’ instead of ‘less than 5%’.
**for house plants the requirement regarding the presence of animal and/or plant parasites is ‘1% or more’ instead of ‘5% or more’.

Depending on the product, the following additional requirements apply for grading plants on pot, plant height, plant diameter, tendril length, maturity, thickness or other features.

• The requirements state the applicable tolerances such as those given in overview 1. A minor divergence occurs if the grading differs by 1 class. A major divergence occurs if the grading differs by 2 or more classes.
• The rule for plant height difference within a lot does not apply to lots if the transport height is stated as characteristic code S15 and is included in the lot details.
• For mixed lots there is a more generous tolerance in terms of plant height. A minor divergence occurs if the grading differs by 2 classes. A major divergence occurs if the grading differs by 3 or more classes.

The following rules apply to the measurement of pot size:

• All pots are measured by the outer dimensions of the top of the pot;
• Whether the diameter or the side is measured conforms overview 1;
• The pots in the lot must be undamaged and uniform in size, colour and material;
• The pot size is stated under grading code S01, in conformance with overview 2. 

Overview 1 diameter measurement


Overview 2 grading on pot size

Grading is in categories:

• from 5 to 30 cm in gradations of 2.5 cm;
• from 30 to 200 cm in gradations of 5 cm;
• from 200 cm in gradations of 10 cm.

Height grading is given during trading using  quality code S02, in conformance with overview 3. The height of the shortest plant in the lot, rounded down, is given.

Overview 3 grading on plant height

Grading in categories:

• from 5 to 30 cm in gradations of 2,5 cm;
• from 30 to 50 cm in gradations of 5 cm;
• from 50 cm in gradations of 10 cm.

Diameter grading is given during trading using quality code S04, in conformance with overview 4. The plant diameter of the narrowest plant in the lot, rounded down, is given.

Overview 4 grading on plant diameter

Grading in categories:

• from 5 to 30 cm in gradations of 2,5 cm;
• from 30 to 50 cm in gradations of 5 cm;
• from 50 cm in gradations of 10 cm.

Tendril length is given during trading using grading code S32, in conformance with overview 5. 

Overview 5 grading on Tendril length

Grading in categories where two successive maturity stages in a category may occur (in conformance with the maturity stage photos).

• Maturity grading is given during trading using quality code S05. The lowest (youngest) maturity stage is reported under the grading code.
• Maturity grading is given during trading using quality code S05. The spread within the lot is specified, with the first number giving the immature stage found in the lot (1, 2, 3 or 4) and the second number, the most mature stage (1, 2, 3 or 4).
• Grading in categories where two successive maturity stages in a category may occur in conformance with the maturity stage photos (see overview 1); a quality code must be added if there are more than two stages.
• For products to which the standard maturity grading does not apply (e.g. plants without flowers), code 099 (not applicable) should be used.

Table 1 grading on maturity

Graded in four categories in conformance with the thickness grading photos. Thickness grading is given during trading using quality code S08.Graded in categories on the number of flowers, buds, flower stalks, shoots/plants per pot, stems, etc., depending on the product. Grading is given during trading using one of the applicable quality codes.

• A lot of plants may be designated ‘mixed’ if at least 2 clearly distinguishable species/ cultivars or colors/ tints per packaged unit are present. One variety or color can form no more than 50% of the number of plants in the lot (for ‘2 mixed a ratio of 50/50 applies). The mix ratio between reciprocal packaging units and/or trolleys in each lot should be uniform.
• However, the lot may be designated ‘mixed trolley’ if each packaged unit has one cultivar/ color and where each trolley has several packaged units each with a different cultivar/ color, resulting in a trolley that can be put together in mixed layers or trays. In such cases, the minimum selling quantity is 1 trolley/ tray.
• There are more generous tolerances regarding plant height for mixed lots. See 'height grading' in 'Additional grading requirements per lot' in the full product specification.

Quality Groups Based on Inspection Codes

Plants can be traded in three quality groups (A1, A2 and B1) depending on the extent to which they meet the quality and grading requirements. The extent to which the lot does not meet the quality and grading requirements is expressed by negative quality remarks applied to the lot. The quality remarks are translated in the corresponding negative quality codes (quality codes K01 and K02), in conformance with the following principle:

The quality codes determine in which quality group the lot is to be traded, in accordance with the following framework:

Packing Requirements

• Packaging must be selected so that the plants are well protected during transport and the selling process in the rest of the chain.
• Plants are required to be supplied in packaging recognized by the VBN.
• Once-only packaging may not be re-used.
• Products that have thorns, needles, rigid branches and/or sharp leaf ends as well as products with (special) support material should be packed in such a way as to prevent any form of injury and/or damage to people and/or environment during the selling process.
• If images of the bulb product occur on sleeves, other packing and/or stick-in/hanging labels, these images should correspond with the packed product.
• Potted flower bulbs for house plants in pot size 8 cm or larger must be provided with product information. 
  

The free space in the trolley between the product and the tray above should be at least 5 cm.

Indentification Requirements

Every trolley should be provided with a fully and correctly completed delivery form, which states as a minimum the following details of the grower:

• Grower’s details: company, address, grower’s number;
• Auction or trading date;
• Number of packaged units;
• Number of items per packaged units / container;
• VBN packing code;
• VBN product code: the selected code should describe the product as accurately as possible;
• Grading code;
• Corresponding product description;
• Type of trolley: auction (stacking) trolley or Danish container (if applicable);
• Auction or product group (if applicable);
• Positive quality remarks (if applicable);
• Trading method.

It is mandatory to accompany lots with a representative lot photo.

Genetically modified products should be identified with the correct citation in the product information.

Recommendations

• It is advisable to provide the product with product information.
• It is advisable to provide plants in pot sizes 9 cm and larger with the information text “this  product is intended exclusively for decorative purposes and is not intended for internal consumption. Incorrect application, consumption, contact of and/or sensitivity to the product can lead to harmful consequences for humans and/or animals”. The text may be given on the pot, sleeve or on a label (stick-in/hanging label). If there is lack of space on the stick-in or hanging label, the following text can be used: “Intended for decoration and not for consumption”. The information can also be presented as pictograms.
• If a sleeve is used, it is strongly recommended to use a sleeve that is closed/sealed underneath.
• If no VBN product code is available, it is advisable to enter the cultivar with the lot and to have it registered as quickly as possible to obtain a product code.