Certification procedure
1. The procedure for the certification of hop cones falling under CN code 1210 10 00 covered by Part VI of Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 and hop products falling under CN codes 1210 20 and 1302 13 00 covered by Part VI of Annex I to that Regulation pursuant to Article 77 of that Regulation shall be carried out before the product is placed on the market and consists of an analysis of the consignment in question.
2. In order to be certified, hop cones shall comply with the minimum marketing requirements set out in Annex I to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/602. Hop products shall meet the requirements laid down in Article 77(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 in order to be certified and it shall be ensured that they are derived entirely from hops meeting the minimum marketing requirements. Certified hops and hop products shall be accompanied by a certificate issued in accordance with Article 77 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013.
3. The certification procedure shall be carried out in the Member State in which the hops are grown for hop cones and in which the hop product is produced for processed hops and hop products.
4. The certification procedure shall take place at the farm or at certification centres under official surveillance.
5. The costs of the certification shall be borne by the operators subject to it, save where Member States decide otherwise.
6. The marking appearing on each sealed package and the certificate which shall accompany the hop product shall constitute proof of certification.
7. If, after certification, the packaging of hops or hop products is changed, with or without further processing, the product shall be subject to a new certification procedure. However, where a change of packaging is carried out under official surveillance without any processing of the product, the certification procedure shall comprise only of the marking of the new packaging and the entry on the original certificate of this marking and the mention ‘change of packaging’.
Marking and sealing
1. Marking of packages in accordance with Annex I shall be carried out after sealing under official surveillance, on the unit of packaging in which the product is to be marketed. The reference number shall be the same for all packages in a consignment and shall correspond to the unique reference number of the certificate for that consignment, established in accordance with Annex II.
2. Each package shall bear at least the following markings in one of the official languages of the Union:
(a)
the description of the product including the mention ‘prepared hops’ or ‘unprepared hops’, as the case may be;
(b)
the variety or varieties;
(c)
the year of harvest;
(d)
the unique reference number of the certificate issued in accordance with Article 4.
These markings shall appear in legible, indelible characters of uniform size.
3. In the case of hops from experimental strains in the course of development and produced by a research institute on its own premises or by a producer on behalf of such an institute, entries referred to in paragraph 2, first subparagraph, point (b), may be replaced by a name or number identifying the strain in question.
Certificate
1. Each certificate shall be given a unique reference number made up of the codes designating, in accordance with Annex II, the Member State, the code number allocated to the certification centre, the year of harvest and the reference number given to the relevant consignment by the certification centre.
2. In the case of hop cones, the certificate shall include at least the following entries:
(a)
the description of the product including the mentions ‘seeded hops’ or ‘seedless hops’, as appropriate, and ‘prepared hops’ or ‘unprepared hops’, as the case may be;
(b)
the unique reference number of the certificate for the consignment;
(c)
the net and/or gross weight of the consignment;
(d)
the hop production area;
(e)
the variety;
(f)
the mention ‘seeded hops’ or ‘seedless hops’, as appropriate;
(g)
the year of harvest;
(h)
the entry listed in Annex III in at least one of the official languages of the Union.
In the case of hops from experimental strains, the entries referred to in the first subparagraph, point (e), may be replaced by a name or number identifying the strain in question.
3. In the case of hop products, the certificate shall include at least the following entries:
(a)
the description of the product;
(b)
the unique reference number of the certificate of the consignment;
(c)
the net and/or gross weight of the consignment;
(d)
the unique reference number of the certificate(s) of the hops used;
(e)
the variety or varieties of the hops used;
(f)
the production area(s) of the hops used;
(g)
the year of harvest;
(h)
the place and date of processing;
(i)
the entry listed in Annex III in at least one of the official languages of the Union.
4. Where hop cones of different varieties and/or production areas are blended to be transformed into a hop product, the certificate accompanying the product must state the percentage weight of each of the different hop varieties and production regions used in the blend.
5. If hop products are used in combination with hop cones for the manufacturing of hop products, or if different hop products are used, the percentage of each input product shall be stated on the certificate, based on the weight of the hop cones that were used for the preparation of the input products.
6. The unique reference numbers of the certificates issued for the input products used in the blend shall be mentioned next to the product.
Common certification requirements for hops and hop products
1. An identification number shall be given to the consignment of original unprepared hops before preparation. This number shall appear on the certificate issued for the prepared hops.
2. Hop products produced from certified unprepared hops may be certified only if the preparation took place within a closed operating circuit.
3. With the exception of hot water extract prepared from hops and glucose syrups for the standardisation of hop extracts, only certified hops and hop products shall enter the closed operating circuit. They shall enter only in the state in which they have been certified.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
