Russia has introduced mandatory labeling of dairy products with a short shelf life

According to the CATD, the operator of the labeling system, almost 100% of manufacturers of such products have been registered in the state labeling system "Honest mark".

‘They have ordered the necessary equipment, set up processes and are ready to produce goods with labeling codes. To date, more than 90 printing houses are fully ready, their capacities cover the needs of the industry,’ said Revaz Yusupov, Deputy General director of the CATD operator (his words are quoted in the company's message).

‘On December 1, our company is fully ready,’ said Yuri Yeibozhenko, Deputy General Director for Food Production at the Agrocomplex named after N.I. Tkachev (his words are quoted by the press service of the CATD). The labeling is applied mainly in a typographic way, the company labels a small part of the products by themselves.

The Group of companies Dominant is also ready to launch the third stage of labeling dairy products with an expiration date of less than 40 days, said Natalia Kalugeryanu, a representative of the group (her words are also quoted by the CATD). ‘We have passed the previous stages in the normal mode. Since we already had the experience gained during the implementation of the first two stages of labeling, all issues were resolved in advance in order to avoid, for example, delays in the supply of equipment. We took into account the minor mistakes that we had previously made at this stage, and now everything starts smoothly enough. To date, we have launched 22 lines,’ she said.

Meanwhile, as stated in the National Union of Milk Producers (Soyuzmoloko), enterprises have approached the third stage of labeling at various levels of readiness. Some companies still have difficulties, which are currently being solved manually with the participation of Soyuzmoloko, CATD, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture. There are risks of difficulties with supplies, according to the union.

In 2021, the union actively participated in finalizing legislation in the field of mandatory labeling of dairy products. Among the most important changes is ensuring the possibility of putting into circulation unlabeled products manufactured before the date of entry into force of labeling requirements. This measure made it possible not to stop the shipment of products, the union noted. The requirement to provide information on labeling codes (piece traceability) for cross-border trade with Belarus was also abolished. This requirement would actually stop the export of products to Belarus, Soyuzmoloko believes.