1. Hop products may only be certified if representatives of the competent certification authority are present at all times when the processing is taking place. The representatives of the competent authority shall supervise the processing at every stage, from the opening of the sealed package containing the certified hops or certified hop product to be processed to the completion of packaging, sealing and marking of the final hop product.
2. The presence of representatives of the competent certification authority when processing is taking place is not required as long as it can be assured by technical means, approved by the competent certification authority, that the provisions of this Regulation are respected.
3. Hop products may only be certified if, before changing to a different batch in a processing system it has been ensured that the processing system is empty, at least to the extent necessary to avoid that the elements of two different batches are mixed.
Information and record keeping by processing plants
1. The operators of hop-processing plants shall provide the competent certification authority with all information related to the technical layout of the processing plant, as well as the measures in place to ensure the respect of the requirement laid down in Article 77(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013.
2. The operators of hop-processing plants shall keep exact records concerning the mass throughput of hops processed. For each batch of hops to be processed records shall be drawn up which contain details of the weights of the input products and of the processed product obtained.
As far as the input products are concerned, the records shall furthermore contain the unique reference number of the certificate for all hop consignments involved and the variety and production region of the hops. If hops from more than one variety or production region are used in the production of the same batch, the respective shares of their weight must appear in the records.
As regards the processed product, the variety and production region shall also appear in the records, or, if the processed product is a blend, the composition by varieties and/or production regions. All weights may be rounded off to the nearest kilogram.
3. Records of the mass throughput shall be signed by representatives of the competent certification authority as soon as the processing of a batch has been completed. They shall be kept by the operator of the processing plant for at least 3 years.
