1. Blended products of the hops sector may only be certified if they were blended under official surveillance in certification centres.
2. Where hop cones are blended to be used as such or transformed into a hop product, each of the consignments used for the blend shall meet the minimum quality requirements laid down in Annex I. Hop cones to be used as such may only be blended with hop cones from the same variety, production area and year of harvest.
3. Certified hop products prepared from certified hops which are from the same year of harvest, but of different varieties and/or from different hop production areas may be blended in the manufacture of hop products provided that the certificate accompanying the product states:
the varieties used, the hop production areas and the year of harvest;
the percentage weight of each variety used in the blend; if hop products have been used in combination with hop cones for the manufacturing of hop products, or if different hop products have been used, the percentage of each variety shall be based on the weight of the hop cones which were used for the preparation of the input products;
the reference numbers of the certificates issued for the hops and hop products used.