20.4.2000 Official Journal of the European Communities L 100/31 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 824/2000 of 19 April 2000 establishing procedures for the taking-over of cereals by intervention agencies and laying down methods of analysis for determining the quality of cereals THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 176692 of 30 June 1992 on the common organisation of the market in cereals ('), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1253/ 1999 (3, and in particular Article 5 thereof, Whereas: (1) The intervention price for common wheat, durum wheat, barley, rye, maize and sorghum is fixed for quali- ties corresponding as far as possible to the average quality of the cereals harvested in the Community. (2)  Intervention prices are increased or reduced to reflect price differences observed on the market for different qualities. (3)  Cereals of inadequate quality for use or storage should not be accepted for intervention. @)  In order to simplify the management of intervention operations and, in particular, to permit the establish- ment of homogeneous lots for each type of cereal offered to intervention, a minimum quantity, below which the intervention agency is not obliged to accept the offer, should be fixed. However, it may be necessary to provide for a greater minimum tonnage in certain Member States, so that intervention agencies may take account of pre-existing conditions and practices of the wholesale trade in those countries. (5 The conditions under which cereals are offered to and taken over by the intervention agencies must be as uniform as possible throughout the Community in order to avoid any discrimination between producers. (6)  Methods of determining the quality of common wheat, durum wheat, rye, barley, maize and sorghum must be defined. (7)  In addition to requiring an annual stock statement pursuant to Commission Regulation (EC) No 2148/96 of 8 November 1996 laying down rules for evaluating and monitoring public intervention stocks of agricultural products (), as amended by Regulation (EC) No 808/ 0] L 181, 1.7.1992, p. 21. () O] L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 18. 0] L 288, 9.11.1996, p. 6. 1999 (¥, the Member States must check the state of preservation of the intervention stocks held. (8)  Commission Regulation (EEC) No 689/92 of 19 March 1992 fixing the procedure and conditions for the taking- over of cereals by intervention agencies (°), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1664/1999 (¥ and Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1908/84 of 4 July 1984 fixing the standard methods for determining the quality of cereals (), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 2507/87 (%), have been frequently amended. For reasons of clarity they should be replaced. (9)  The Management Committee for Cereals has not deliv- ered an opinion within the time limit set by its chairman, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 During the periods referred to in Article 4(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92, any holder of a homogeneous batch of not less than 80 tonnes of common wheat, rye, barley, maize or sorghum or 10 tonnes of durum wheat, harvested within the Community, shall be entitled to offer the batch to the interven- tion agency. However, the intervention agencies may fix a greater minimum tonnage. Article 2 1. In order to be accepted for intervention, the cereals must be sound, fair and of marketable quality. 2. They shall be considered sound, fair and of marketable quality if they are of the typical colour of the cereal in ques- tion, are free from abnormal smell and live pests (including mites) at every stage of their development and meet the minimum quality requirements set out in Annex I hereto, and if their radioactivity levels do not exceed the maximum levels permitted under Community regulations. The level of radioactive contamination of the product shall be monitored only if the situation so requires and only for as long as is necessary. Where necessary, the duration and scope of the controls shall be determined in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 23 of Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92. In addition, in cases where analyses indicate that the Zeleny index of a batch of common wheat is between 22 and 30, for this wheat to be deemed sound, fair and of marketable quality within the meaning of paragraph 1, the dough obtained from it must be judged to be non-sticky and machinable. 4 ) O] L 102, 17.4.1999, p. 70. () O] L 74, 20.3.1992, p. 18. (9 O] L 197, 29.7.1999, p. 28. () O] L () O] L 3 178, 5.7.1984, p. 22. 235, 20.8.1987, p. 10. 8