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

CHAPTER 2 U.K. HOPS

Article 3 U.K. Hops presented for certification

1. Every consignment of hops presented for certification shall be accompanied by a written declaration signed by the producer giving the following data:

(a) the producer's name and address;

(b) the harvest year;

(c) the variety;

(d) the place of production;

(e) the parcel reference in the integrated administrative and control system (IACS) provided for in Article 17 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003(1), or the land register reference or an official equivalent thereof;

(f) the number of packages in the consignment.

2. The declaration provided for in paragraph 1 shall accompany the consignment of hops throughout all processing or mixing operations and in any case until the certificate is issued.

Article 4 U.K. Marketing requirements

1. In order to be certified, hops shall comply with the conditions referred to in Article 2(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1952/2005 and the minimum marketing requirements set out in Annex I to this Regulation.

2. Compliance with the minimum marketing requirement relating to the moisture content of the hops shall be checked by representatives of the competent certification authority applying one of the methods described in Annex II(B).

The method described in Annex II(B)(2) shall be approved by the competent certification authority and must give results with a standard deviation not exceeding 2,0. In the event of a dispute, compliance shall be checked by the method described in Annex II(B)(1).

3. Compliance with minimum marketing requirements other than the moisture content shall be checked in accordance with normal commercial practice.

However, in the event of a dispute, the method described in Annex II(C) shall be used.

Article 5 U.K. Sampling

For the purpose of the control methods referred to in Article 4(2) and (3), samples shall be taken and treated in accordance with the method described in Annex II(A).

Samples shall be taken, in each consignment, from at least one package in 10 and, in any case, from at least two packages in a consignment.

Article 6 U.K. 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 and, in any event, before processing.

It shall take place not later than 31 March of the year following the year of harvesting. Member States may set an earlier date.

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. The certification procedure shall take place at the farm or at certification centres.

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

Article 7 U.K. Blending

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

2. Hops for blending must come from the same hop production area and the same harvest and be of the same variety.

3. By way of derogation from paragraph 2, 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 8 U.K. Resale

In the case of resale of hops 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.

(1)

OJ L 270, 21.10.2003, p. 1.