Russia returns tonnes of dangerous Belarusian milk and meat

Russian authorities send several shipments of dairy produce, meat back to Belarus.

Shipments of "unsafe" Belarusian dairy produce and meat were stopped by authorities in western Russia and returned to Belarus earlier this month, according to Russia’s Federal Veterinary and Phytosanitary Monitoring Service (Rosselkhoznadzor). 


The agency said on Monday that two shipments of dairy produce weighing a total of 17 tons and five shipments of processed meat had been stopped in the Bryansk and Smolensk provinces because of the lack of accompanying documents and violations of transportation rules. In addition, a 15-ton shipment of beef was sent back to Belarus because sanitary standards had not been observed during its transportation, said Rosselkhoznadzor. 



On September 3, Russia introduced a temporary ban on imports of pork, live hogs and hog feeds from Belarus over cases of African swine fever. 

Authorities in the Bryansk and Smolensk provinces have since examined imports from Belarus more carefully to enforce the ban. 

Gennady Onishchenko, head of Russia’s Federal Consumer Protection Service (Rospotrebnadzor), warned on September 5 that imports of dairy produce from Belarus could be banned within days. 

On August 28, Rospotrebnadzor issued a statement expressing concern about the quality of Belarusian-made foodstuffs, especially dairy produce. 

Out of 240 samples of Belarusian dairy products recently examined, 30 percent did not meet quality and safety requirements, the statement said.