MINSK, 22 January (BelTA) – Belarus' Agriculture and Food Ministry believes that domestic dairy products will get a competitive edge after the amendments to the EAEU technical regulation “On safety of milk and dairy products” will come into force. These amendments have introduced new labeling requirements to products containing milk fat substitutes. The transition period preceding the enforcement of the amendments came to an end on 16 January 2019, Deputy Director of the Veterinary and Food Oversight Department of the Belarusian Agriculture and Food Ministry Kirill Glushchenko told reporters in the BelTA press center on 22 January.
“The Agriculture and Food Ministry was among those who initiated the amendments to this technical regulation. They will help improve the competitive ability of Belarusian products, as most of them are made from organic raw materials,” Kirill Glushchenko said.
He noted that in 2018 Belarus produced merely 829 tonnes of products with milk fat substitutes, which is 0.01% of the total product volume.
“This amendment is good. When in a dairy store a consumer can immediately see what kinds of products these are, what they contain and thus make an informed choice,” Kirill Glushchenko said.
The quality of Belarusian dairy products has been confirmed during monitoring inspections by the Scientific and Practical Center for Foodstuffs at the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. According to deputy director of the center Yelena Morgunova, in September-December 2018 the center tested 182 samples of dairy products (cheese, milk, and dairy products), 280 samples of cheese, 160 samples of butter, 208 samples of powdered dairy products, 144 samples of condensed and concentrated milk. The center sampled the products made by all dairy companies of the country. “These tests revealed no products with milk fat substitutes. The quality of the tested products met the requirements laid out in the technical regulation on the safety of milk and dairy products. All indicators were in compliance with the requirements,” Yelena Morgunova noted.
16 January 2019 marked the end of the transition period before the amendments to the EAEU technical regulation on the safety of milk and dairy entered into force. This transition period was granted to the manufacturers of dairy products containing vegetable fats to replace packaging and register new declarations of conformity for products with altered names and labels. According to the Eurasian Economic Commission, from 16 January manufacturers of dairy with milk fat substitutes must place the information on the presence of vegetable oils on the packaging.
