Rosselkhoznadzor opposed to politicizing issue of yogurt supplies for U.S. Olympic athletes in Sochi
MOSCOW. Feb 6 (Interfax) - The Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) said it was opposed to the politicization of the issue on Chobani yogurt supplies for U.S. Olympic athletes in Sochi.
U.S. mass media outlets have recently reported a lot on the complications which occurred during the attempt to import Chobani yogurt to Russia for U.S. athletes and employees of the BNC TV channel for the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Rosselkhoznadzor said.
"Unfortunately, the technical issue of the certification of the product subject to state veterinary inspection, which occurred during imports, has gained a political angle," the watchdog said in a statement. "Thus, the demand of a U.S. senator for the Russian authorities on the immediate entrance of the Chobani yogurt into Russia was printed," the document said.
Due to this, Rosselkhoznadzor says that imports to the Customs Union of dairy products and any other products subject to state veterinary inspection are possible only when each batch of such products has an accorded veterinary certificate. "In other words, having such a certificate accompanying each batch of imported products is a compulsory legal demand of Russia and the Customs Union in general," the statement said.
"Up until now, despite a quite long history of negotiations, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has not been accorded a veterinary certificate to supply U.S. milk and dairy with the veterinary services of the Customs Union. Of course, an ordinary sanitary certificate issued by relevant bodies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture for such products can in no way substitute the accorded veterinary certificate," the document said.
Rosselkhoznadzor has proposed that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as a measure to resolve the issue quickly, submit the yogurt batch meant to be imported to Sochi with the Certificate N28, which is posted on the official website of the Eurasian Economic Commission and which stipulates the compliance of this product with the safety standards and demands of the Customs Union law.
"Unfortunately, the U.S. party has not confirmed the safety of the yogurt batch being supplied with this type of certificate citing that such a measure could allegedly have a negative impact on the U.S. stance during future talks on certificates for dairy products supplied by the U.S. to the market of the Customs Union countries," Rosselkhoznadzor said.
Due to this, the issues being reported by mass media outlets apparently refer to a lack of information on the essence of the ongoing problem, the watchdog said.
According to the foreign mass media reports, 5,000 containers of Chobani yogurt have been stopped at the border due to issues with the accompanying documents. Chobani yogurt is rich in protein and athletes usually consume it during training.