Ban on imports of preserves from Ukraine takes effect in Russia

A ban on imports of vegetable, fruit and fish preserves from Ukraine that has been introduced by Russia’s federal consumer rights watchdog agency Rospotrebnadzor takes effect as of July 29, 2014.

Officials at Rospotrebnadzor told Itar-Tass the inspectors had exposed multiple encroachments on the provisions of Russian legislation by a number of companies and factories in Ukraine located in Odessa, the town of Nezhin, and the city of Vinnitsa.
The preserves produced by these companies contained incorrect customer indications, their net weight and the contents of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, C vitamin, and microelements did not meet the indictors on the labels.
Inconsistencies were also exposed in what concerned the calorific value and the content of table salt in the preserves.
Rospotrebnadzor director Anna Popova said July 23 the list of Ukrainian ready foods could be extended, as fish preserves could be added to it.
The only ban on Ukrainian foodstuffs Rospotrebnadzor has introduced so far concerned the candies produced and supplied by the company Roshen (that belongs to the incumbent Ukrainian President, Petro Poroshenko). The agency had claims against the quality and safety of the Roshen factories’ products.

Another Russian agency that exercises quality control in agriculture and medicine, Rosselkhoznadzor, imposed a ban on the imports of vegetative produce in the passengers’ luggage and cabin-luggage.
It also banned the imports of products of animal origins because of a possible presence of quarantine objects in them.
Rosselkhoznadzor’s ban went into effect July 28.
July 23, the watchdog warned it would ban the imports of all foodstuffs from Ukraine if Kiev failed to enforce the Eurasian Customs Union’s requirements for imported EU produce before ratification of the Ukraine-EU association agreement.
The data of the Federal Customs Service suggests that the imports of agricultural produce and foodstuffs from Ukraine totaled $ 495 million from January through to June 2014.