8.8.77 , Official Journal of the European Communities No L 200/1 (Acts whose publication is obligatory) ~ COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No1784/77 of 19 July 1977 concerning the certification of hops THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, . Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1696/71 of 26 July 1971 on the common organization of the market in hops (), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1170/77 (2), and in particular Article 2 (4) thereof, ’ Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, . Whereas Regulation (EEC) No 1696/71 provides for the certification of the products referred to in Article 1, harvested or prepared in the Community ; whereas the general rules thereof relating to this certification should be laid down ; - Whereas, in view of their special nature and their use, certain products should be excluded from the certifi- cation procedure ; Whereas Member States should be allowed to certify products meeting the conditions laid down in this Regu- lation through authorized bodies or departments specially designated for that purpose ; + Whereas, to ensure compliance with the certification procedure, provision should be made for inspection in accordance with appropriate rules ; Whereas, under Article 2 (2) of the abovementioned Regulation, certificates can be issued only for products meeting minimum quality standards; whereas provision (1) OJ NoL 175, 4. 8. 1971, p. 1. (3) OJNo L 137,3.6.1977,p.7. should be made to ensure that the minimum marketing requirements are observed from the initial marketing stage onwards; Whereas in order to ensure that certified products can * be identified, rules should be laid down to the effect that the packaging should bear the necessary particulars for official inspection purposes and for the information of buyers; Whereas the Member States concerned should be allowed to define thé zones or regions to be considered as hop production areas; Whereas the certification principle implies strict rules governing blends; whereas, therefore, blends of hop cones should be authorized only if they consist of cer- tified products of the same variety coming from the same harvest and the same production area; whereas, to ensure compliance with this provision, it should also be specified that blending must be done under supervision and that blends must be subject to the same certification procedure as their constituents; Whereas, in view of users’ requirements, it should be permissible to blend certified hops which are not of the same variety and do not come from the same pro- duction area in the manufacture of powder and extracts; whereas, therefore, the inspection and certification - requirements should be the same as for the blends of hop cones referred to above, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 1. This Regulation shall apply to the products referred to in Article 1 of Regulation (EEC) No 1696/71 when harvested in the Community or when prepared from such products which have either been harvested in the