the government is considering the introduction of labeling junk food – Kommersant

The government is considering introducing food labels in line with World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations. The newspaper reports “News”referring to the instructions of Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova following the results of the June meeting of the Government Council.

As the newspaper writes, it is planned to introduce a special designation on the front side of the product packaging if the content of calories and harmful substances in the product exceeds the allowable limit.

Taking into account the WHO recommendations, the Ministry of Health of Russia may classify sweet soda, pickles, smoked meats, foods high in trans fats (pastries, sweet, fried and deep-fried foods), as well as some meat products (sausages, bacon, ham) as harmful products.

The government is also considering the inclusion of obesity in the list of socially significant diseases. At the moment, it includes diseases such as HIV, oncology, diabetes, tuberculosis and others.

In 2018, Rospotrebnadzor came up with a proposal to introduce voluntary labeling of harmful products. However, according to Oleg Pavlov, deputy chairman of the Public Council under the department, entrepreneurs did not take mass participation in the experiment and refused to label so as not to scare off buyers.

From July 1, Russia introduced an excise tax on carbonated and sweet drinks. It works in the same way as a tax on alcohol, cigarettes or gasoline: producers are obliged to pay it to the state on their own. In the case of soda, it’s 7 rubles. for each liter of production. Due to the imposition of this tax, some companies were forced to reduce investments and abandon new projects.

More details – in the text “Kommersant” “The excise shook Chernogolovka”.

Petr Buzlaev