Mandatory labeling of dairy products by agricultural cooperatives may be postponed
At present, peasant farm holdings have the right not to apply identification means to dairy products and not to provide relevant information to the monitoring information system until December 1, 2022. The amendments of the department extend the right of deferral for dairy products to agricultural production cooperatives.
As previously indicated in the Ministry of Industry and Trade, first of all, large and medium-sized manufacturers should take part in the project of the traceability system, and small enterprises should be given a one-year delay.
A pilot project on the labeling of dairy products has been held in Russia since July 15, 2019. Labeling involves applying the Data Matrix code to each unit of products and transmitting data on the movement of this unit along the commodity chain to the "Honest Mark" system. This will allow tracking the life cycle of each unit and monitoring its quality at each stage.
To ensure a smooth transition, the process was divided into several stages. It is planned to be completed in 2023.
Since January 20, 2021, the labeling of dairy products is carried out in a voluntary mode. Since June 1, the requirements for mandatory labeling of cheeses and ice cream will apply, since September 1 — for dairy products with a maximum shelf life of 40 days, and since December 1-products with a shelf life of 40 days or less.
The bill proposed to postpone the introduction of mandatory labeling of dairy products until December 1, 2022 for agricultural cooperatives. In addition, it is planned to remove the obligation for these organizations to retail their products independently.
Earlier, the Ministry of Industry and Trade considered the possibility of introducing water labeling in three stages. The Ministry noted that, by analogy with dairy products, water labeling will also be introduced in stages. It is supposed to start labeling mineral water first, then everything else.
