Commission Regulation (EC) No 1850/2006Show full title

CHAPTER 3 HOP PRODUCTS

Article 9 Certification procedure

1. The certification procedure shall include the issue of certificates and the marking and sealing of the packages.

2. Certification shall be carried out before the product is offered for sale.

3. Marking shall be carried out in accordance with Annex III, under official surveillance and after sealing, on the unit of packaging in which the product is to be marketed.

4. Certification procedures shall take place in certification centres.

5. If, after certification, the packaging of the hop products is changed, with or without further processing, the product shall be subject to a new certification procedure.

Article 10 Preparation within a closed operating circuit

1. Prepared hops produced from hops which were certified unprepared may not be certified unless preparation took place within a closed operating circuit.

The first subparagraph shall also apply to products prepared from hops as referred to in Article 1(4).

2. If the hops are prepared in a certification centre:

(a) the certificate shall not be issued until after preparation;

(b) the original unprepared hops shall be accompanied by the declaration referred to in Article 3(1).

3. An identification number shall be given to the consignment of original unprepared hops before preparation. This number must appear on the certificate issued for the prepared hops.

4. With the exception of the substances listed in Annex IV, only the certified hops and hop products referred to in Article 1(4) of this Regulation may enter the closed operating circuit. They may enter only in the state in which they have been certified.

5. If, during the production of extracts manufactured by the use of carbon dioxide, processing in the closed operating circuit has to be interrupted for technical reasons, the representatives of the competent certification authority shall ensure the sealing of the package containing the intermediate product at the point of interruption. The seals may be broken only by the representatives of the competent certification authority when processing resumes.

Article 11 Official surveillance during production of hop products

1. In the case of production of hop products, representatives of the competent certification authority shall be present at all times when processing is taking place. They shall supervise the processing adequately at every stage, from the opening of the sealed package containing the hops or hop product to be processed to the completion of packing, sealing and marking of the hop product. The absence of representatives of the competent certification authority is permissible as long as it can be assured by technical means, approved by the competent certification authority, that the provisions of this Regulation are respected.

2. Before changing to a different batch in a processing system the representatives of the competent certification authority shall ensure by official surveillance that the processing system is empty, at least to the extent necessary to ensure the elements of two different batches cannot be mixed.

If hops, hop products, spent hops or any other product derived from hops remain in parts of the processing system such as blending or canning containers while hops of another batch is being processed, these parts have to be disconnected from the processing system by suitable technical means and under official surveillance. They may be re-connected to the processing system under official surveillance only.

A physical link between the processing line for concentrated hop powder and that for non-concentrated hop powder shall not be allowed while either is operating.

Article 12 Information and record keeping

1. The operators of hop-processing plants shall provide the representatives of the competent certification authority with all information related to the technical layout of the processing plant.

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 product and the processed product.

As far as the input product is concerned, the records shall furthermore contain the reference number of the certificate for all hop consignments involved and the variety of the hops. If more than one variety is used in the same batch the respective shares of their weights must appear in the records.

As regards the processed product, the variety shall also appear in the records, or, if the processed product is a blend, the composition by varieties.

All weights may be rounded off to the nearest kilogram.

3. Records of the mass throughput shall be made under official surveillance and 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 a processing plant for at least three years.

Article 13 Change of packaging

1. While they are in circulation, hop powders and hop extracts may not undergo a change of packaging with or without further processing, unless this is done under official surveillance.

2. Where a change of packaging is carried out without any processing of the product, the new certification procedure shall comprise only:

(a) the marking of the new packaging;

(b) the entry on the original certificate of this marking and the change of packaging.

Article 14 Blending

1. Hop products certified in accordance with this Regulation may be blended only under official surveillance in certification centres.

2. Certified hop products prepared from certified hops of Community origin which are from the same harvest but of different varieties and from different hop production areas may be blended in the manufacture of powder and extracts provided that the certificate accompanying the product states:

(a) the varieties used, the hop production areas and the year of harvesting;

(b) the percentage weight of each variety used in the blend; if hop products have been used in combination with cone hops for the manufacturing of hop products, or if different hop products have been used, the percentage weight of each variety based on the quantity of cone hops which was used for the preparation of the input products;

(c) the reference numbers of the certificates issued for the hops and hop products used.

Article 15 Resale

In the case of resale of hop products within the Community, after a certified consignment has been split up, the product shall be accompanied by an invoice or a commercial document drawn up by the vendor stating the reference number of the certificate. The invoice or commercial document shall also bear the following information, taken from the certificate:

(a)

the designation of the product;

(b)

the gross and/or net weight;

(c)

the place of production;

(d)

the year of harvest;

(e)

the variety;

(f)

the place and date of processing.