Russia to destroy imported food from banned countries

Russia has announced new rules, under which the country will immediately destroy sanctioned foods from either the US or European Union (EU) nations.

The move, implemented by the Agriculture Ministry, is aimed at controlling the import of food from the banned countries.

The new rules, which were approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who recently instructed customs and other officials on how to dispose of the goods, instead of returning them to their producers, reported the Moscow Times.

RIA Novosti reported that the three federal agencies responsible for the destruction of the banned goods are the Federal Customs Service, and two consumer safety watchdogs, Rosselkhoznadzor and Rospotrebnadzor.

Smuggling of food products saw a surge after Russia imposed a one-year ban on the import of items including meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, and milk products from the US, EU nations, Norway, Canada, and Australia for a year, in retaliation to western sanctions over the countrys’ involvement in the Ukrainian crisis.

The goods were often procured via Kazakhstan and Belarus, with whom Russia is united in a free trade zone, without customs checkpoints, says The Moscow Times.

Russia was blamed for providing weapons and other support to pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine, allegations that were denied by the country.

Recently, Russia extended the food ban for another year until August 2016, saying that the move was aimed at giving a boost to local food producers.

Meanwhile, the country also suspended the import of fish cans from five Latvian canned fish suppliers, Ventspils Fish Canning Plant, Gamma-A, Sabiedrba IMS, Unda, and Suldusgalaskombinats after the products were found to violate the requirements of the Russian consumer rights protection laws, reported Russia Beyond The Headlines.

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Image: Russia has recently extended its ban on meat, fish, fruit, vegetables and milk products from the US, the EU nations, Norway, Canada and Australia for a year. Photo: courtesy of savit keawtavee/freedigitalphotos.net.