Press-release
On February 20, 2015, The Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-being of the Russian Federation (Rospotrebnadzor) has suspended the imports to Russia of cheese products and imitation cheese produced in Poland, including imitation cheese under Jolly Cow brand by Milkiland’s Polish subsidiary Ostrowia.
Rospotrebnadzor has published an official statement on its web-site saying that expertize of Jolly Cow cheese imitation produced by Ostrowia Sp. z.o.o. (Polish Republic) allegedly showed a violation of the Customs Union technical regulations TR TC 022/2011 Food Products and Their Labelling and TR TC 033/2013 On Safety of Milk and Dairy Products.
In reality, Jolly Cow imitation cheese (with 50% fat content in dry matter and at least 5.0% of milkfat in fat matter) suspended by Rospotrebnadzor is not a food product for human consumption but rather a raw material for further processing by food producers.
Ostrowia started exporting this product to Russia in early January 2015. It is imported to Russian Federation based on the Declaration of Compliance (registered under TC No. RU D‑PL.AG79.В.15090) issued by the Federal Accreditation Service (Rosakkreditatsia). This Declaration confirms that the product meets the requirements of technical regulations TR TC 021/2011On Food Products Safety and TR TC 022/2011 Food Products and Their Labelling.
Moreover, tests by the Federal Customs Service showed that this is not a dairy or milk-containing product and issued the corresponding expert opinion. Thus, technical requirements of TR TC 033/2013 On Safety of Milk and Dairy Products are not applicable to imitation cheese.
“Jolly Cow imitation cheese is not for retail sales and consumption, it needs further processing.
It is supplied to the Russian Federation in industrial package with all applicable labelling.
“Besides, this is not a dairy or milk-containing product.
“These facts proved by the relevant Russian authorities, we believe this Rospotrebnadzor decision has been caused by mal-communication.
“At present, the Milkiland Group focused its efforts to eliminate Rospotrebnadzor claims and restore exports of Polish products to Russia. Namely, the company has applied to the Russian authorities to establish a dialogue, define the violations and develop an action plan to address them,” commented Milkiland N.V. CEO Anatoly Yurkevych.