Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/601 of 14 December 2023 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the certification of hops and hop products and related controls

The definitions provided for in Article 3 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/602 shall apply to this Regulation.

1 The procedure for the certification of hop cones falling under CN code 12101000 covered by Part VI of Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 and hop products falling under CN codes 121020 and 13021300 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’.

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.

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.

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.

1 For hop cones, certification shall take place not later than 31 March of the year following the year of harvest. Member States may set an earlier date.

2 Every consignment of unprepared hops presented for certification shall be accompanied by a written harvest declaration signed by the producer giving the following data: (a) the producer’s name and address; (b) the place of production; (c) the variety; (d) the year of harvest; (e) the parcel reference in the land register or an official equivalent thereof; (f) the number of packages in the consignment.

3 The harvest declaration provided for in paragraph 2 shall accompany the consignment of hops until the certificate is issued.

1 Compliance with the minimum marketing requirement relating to the moisture content of the hops laid down in Annex I to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/602 shall be checked by representatives of the competent certification authority applying one of the methods described in section B of Annex IV to this Regulation and must give results within two standard deviations. In the event of a dispute, compliance shall be checked by the method described in section B, point 1, of Annex IV to this Regulation.

2 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 concerning the extraneous matter content, the method described in section C of Annex IV shall be used.

3 For the purpose of the control methods referred to paragraphs 1 and 2, samples shall be taken and treated in accordance with the method described in section A of Annex IV. Samples shall be taken, in each consignment, from at least one package in ten and, in any case, from at least two packages in a consignment.

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.

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.

1 Member States shall appoint competent certification authorities and ensure that the necessary controls and manuals of procedures are in place, with a view to guaranteeing a minimum quality of the certified hops and hop products, the respect of the requirement laid down in Article 77(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 as well as traceability of the hops and hop products at consignment level.

2 The competent certification authority shall approve certification centres allowed to carry out certification of hops and/or hop products and allocate a code number to them in accordance with point 1 of Annex II.

1 The competent certification authority shall approve certification centres, having a legal personality or sufficient legal capacity to be subject, under national legislation, to rights and obligations, and ensure that they have adequate facilities to carry out the necessary sampling, analytical, statistical and recording tasks.

2 On the basis of a risk analysis, at least once per calendar year, the competent certification authority shall carry out random on-the-spot checks of certification centres in order to verify compliance with paragraph 1. The effectiveness of risk analysis parameters used in previous years shall be assessed on an annual basis.

1 The competent certification authority shall withdraw the approval of a certification centre if it finds that in the preparation of hop products non-permitted components have been used, or that the components used do not conform to the entries in the certificate as provided for in Article 4(2) and (3), and if this is imputable to the certification centre concerned, or if the certification centre neglects the notification obligation referred to in Article 13 or submits incorrect notifications.

2 Approval may not be restored for a period of at least 12 months following the date of withdrawal. On request of the certification centre from which approval was withdrawn, approval may be restored after that period if the certification authority is satisfied with the remedial action taken.

The information concerning the certificates issued for hops and hop products shall be centralised at national level. Member States shall lay down the form and manner in which this information shall be notified to them by the certification centres.

1 Member States shall notify to the Commission, by 30 June each year at the latest, of: (a) a list of their hop production areas; (b) the names and addresses of their competent certification authorities; (c) a list of the certification centres on their territory and the code numberallocated to each certification centre.

2 The notifications to the Commission referred to in paragraph 1 shall be made in accordance with Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/1183 and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1185.

3 The removal of a certification centre from the national list shall be notified to the Commission without delay.

The Commission shall ensure that the list of hop production areas and the list of certification centres and their code numbers are updated regularly and available on the website of the Commission.

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.