Labeling of dairy products

Milk production in Russia

• Milk production and sales in Russia
• Agriculture in Russia

2024: Expired milk in Russia can no longer be bought. Sales are blocked at the checkout

On May 1, 2024, a system for blocking sales of expired and illegal dairy products began to operate in Russia. This mechanism also applies to bottled water.

The system uses the Fair Sign marking platform. When scanning the code, the cash register software accesses the Fair Sign database to obtain the necessary information about the product. If any violations are detected, for example, related to the expiration date, the sale of the product will be automatically prohibited. The mechanism operates at both regular and self-service checkouts.

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If in a second and a half the cashier does not receive a response from the marking platform, the outlet will check offline using a database that is updated at least once every two hours. As of the beginning of May 2024, the new mechanism operates in retail chains, which have at least 50 stores.

According to Revaz Yusupov, Deputy General Director of the Center for the Development of Advanced Technologies (CRPT, operator of the Honest Sign marking platform), the blocking mechanism is aimed at protecting consumers from low-quality or illegal goods. In particular, the system will not allow the product to be sold in the absence of the necessary information about it in the Fair Sign database or data distortion, in a double sale or in attempts to sell prohibited goods.

Now that milk or water is punched at the checkout in the supermarket, the sale of delinquency or illegal goods is technically impossible, Yusupov notes.

In addition, the system makes it possible to exclude the human factor. We are talking about a situation where the seller did not have time to check the expiration dates, for example, on all dairy products placed on the shelf.^[1]

2022

"Honest sign" revealed 20 million cases of sale of expired milk

Since September 1, 2022 to data , 19.8 million cases of sale of expired dairy products have been identified under the Honest Sign labeling system. This was announced on November 17, 2022 by the operator of the National System for Digital Labeling of Goods. " Honest Sign Details. here

The next stage of digital labeling of dairy products begins in Russia

From September 1, 2022, all participants in the circulation of dairy products must transfer information to the labeling system in the context of the product code and its quantity through electronic document flow, as well as on fixing the withdrawal of labeled products from circulation in the retail link through the cash desks. This was announced on September 1, 2022 by representatives of the CRPT.

The transfer of information on milk circulation through electronic document management and the sale of products through cash desks is one of the most important stages in the introduction of digital labeling. Thanks to this, the full traceability of the movement of goods "from cow to consumer" will be implemented. As of September 1, 2022, we see that the vast majority of retail in all regions of Russia has successfully begun trading in labeled products, business process failures are not recorded. A business that has not prepared for September 1, but wants to continue selling dairy products, will have the opportunity to set up the necessary processes, "said Revaz Yusupov, Deputy General Director of the CRPT.

The Federal Tax Service of Russia noted that the decision to use existing electronic document management technologies based on the UPD format and online cash desks to control the movement of all marked goods avoids an additional financial burden on business.

Retail chains have been working with labeled goods for several years, more than 5 product categories, all processes have been tested and tested. Thanks to the delays provided by the Government, it was possible to fully prepare for the introduction of new rules for dairy products. AKORT companies are already working using electronic document management and are ready to correctly transmit information about the turnover of labeled goods. Also, all AKORT participants are already actively selling properly labeled dairy products. We do not predict any delays in the sale of milk on September 1, - said the association.

Digital labeling of dairy products has been introduced in Russia since 2021. From June 1, 2021, it became mandatory for cheeses and ice cream, from September 1 - for products with a shelf life of more than 40 days, from December 1 - for goods with a storage period of 40 days or less.

The state will reimburse milk processors 70% of the cost of equipment for digital marking

The state will reimburse milk processors for 70% of the cost of equipment for digital labeling. This was announced on August 30, 2022 by the press service of Deputy Prime Minister Victoria Abramchenko after a meeting on measures to support agricultural producers.

Since 2023, it has been proposed to provide state support to milk processors who have incurred the costs of modernizing agricultural facilities related to the purchase and installation of equipment for labeling dairy products.

The state will reimburse milk processors 70% of the cost of equipment for digital marking

According to Victoria Abramchenko, in the context of sanctions pressure, it is very important to promptly respond to the requests of farmers and adjust the existing support measures.

Milk processors will receive a new measure related to reimbursement for labeling equipment. Dairy products are socially significant categories of goods, and it is important to continue to provide Russians with high-quality and affordable dairy products, she said.

By the end of August 2022, the Government of the Russian Federation is preparing appropriate amendments to the regulations. It is proposed to supplement the rules for bringing subsidies with provisions on the possibility of reimbursing agricultural producers and milk processing enterprises 70% of the direct costs incurred for the purchase of marking equipment.

Among other measures to support agro-industrial complex enterprises, which the Deputy Prime Minister discussed at a meeting with departments, was considered an increase in the amount of reimbursement of costs for the creation of facilities in the field of breeding, fish-planting material and feed, as well as support for private household plots. Among the proposed changes is an increase to 50% from 20% in the amount of reimbursement of part of the direct costs incurred for the creation and modernization of breeding and seed production centers in crop production.

The implementation of these support measures will be carried out at the expense of the budget of the state program, and revenues from export duties on the products of the agro-industrial complex are considered as additional sources of financing, the press service of Abramchenko added.^[2]

2021

Start of mandatory digital labeling of dairy products with a short shelf life

On December 1, 2021, mandatory digital labeling of dairy products with a short shelf life of up to 40 days began in Russia.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, most enterprises began preparations for labeling in advance and ordered the necessary equipment. Still, there are companies that are struggling. As a rule, the problems are associated with the late start of training, on which coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions and cases of employee diseases were imposed. Temporary solutions have been proposed for such enterprises - in particular, it is possible to submit codes directly to the MT GIS for companies that have questions about software testing .

Mandatory digital labeling of dairy products with a short shelf life has begun in Russia

For enterprises experiencing delays in the supply of equipment, the labeling system operator made the warehouse stock the most popular in equipment projects - printer-applicators. In addition, it is possible to work with aggregated packaging using a 2D scanner: now companies can read the first and last code, and not everyone in a row. A number of other organizational and technical measures have been taken. All enterprises experiencing difficulties are taken under control, work is carried out with them according to an individual schedule.

According to the operator of the labeling system, CRPT state Honest sign almost 100% of manufacturers of such products passed registration and registration of products in the labeling system "."

Readiness for mandatory labeling was also confirmed in the Milk Union of Russia. Most enterprises have completed commissioning work, production lines are ready. The association noted that milk processing enterprises are ready to start supplying their products to retail chains from December 1, 2021.

It is expected that for farmers who will sell products directly or through retail, labeling will become mandatory from December 1, 2022.^[3]SHORT SHELF^[4]

Start of mandatory digital labeling of ice cream and cheese

On June 1, 2021, mandatory digital labeling of ice cream and cheese began in Russia. By this day, 85% of ice cream producers and all cheese producers passed registration and registration of products in the state marking system "Honest Sign," the Center for the Development of Advanced Technologies (CRPT; system developer).

According to the deputy general director of the CRPT Revaz Yusupov, by June 1, 2021, 826 companies had ordered more than 1 billion codes, while integrators and printing houses were ready for labeling. Yusupov said that the system copes well with high load and works without delays and failures. At the end of May 2021, the load increased 8 times, while the 99% of documents is processed in less than 10 minutes, he said.

Mandatory digital labeling of ice cream and cheese has begun in Russia

The general director of the company "Crimean Traditions" David Amirkhanyan said that the labeling process at the enterprise was launched in the fall of 2020. There were no problems that could not be solved.

Cheese maker Valio also announced its readiness. The press service of the enterprise clarified:

The company's own plant in Moscow has carried out work on the installation and adjustment of equipment necessary for marking finished products, and is fully ready to comply with the requirements of the legislation, which comes into force on June 1.

In May 2021, the Kommersant newspaper reported that almost 40% of Russian ice cream producers were unable to begin mandatory labeling of products on time due to difficulties with the supply and installation of equipment. In particular, faced difficulties in Unilever (brands "Magnat," "Gold Standard," etc.), which occupies up to 10% of the market. Natalya Utkina, deputy general director of the Union of Ice Cream Makers of Russia, did not rule out that all this could lead to a shortage of ice cream.^[5]

The term of labeling ice cream and cheeses will not be postponed

The Russian government does not plan to postpone the introduction of mandatory labeling of cheeses and ice cream in Russia from June 1, 2021. The CRPT announced this on April 16, 2021.

The meeting was attended by the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov and Deputy Minister of Agriculture Oksana Lut. According to the source, who also participated in the event, they indicated that there would be no postponement of the labeling of cheese and ice cream.

According to the audio recording of the meeting, the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that by April 2021, only 72% of cheese producers have joined the digital labeling system, and even fewer - only 37% - ice cream producers.

On Monday, we sent to the regional headquarters up-to-date lists of companies that specialize in a large nomenclature for milk and which are also registered in the Mercury system, but have not yet connected to the labeling system. Obviously, the later this happens, the more burdensome it will be for everyone, taking into account the decision made by the government, "said Denis Manturov.

The deputy head of the Ministry of Agriculture, in turn, noted that, according to the agricultural ministry, the situation with the connection of manufacturers in the labeling system is better.

In our opinion, the registration percentage in the Honest Sign system is quite high, and we do not see any prerequisites for postponing the dates for the first group, ice cream and cheeses, "said Oksana Lut.

There is a fairly systematic and good registration, and we understand that there are no risks for the remaining period. All businesses must be registered. Who is not registered, which regions have not yet been registered, we have this information, so here we will communicate online with you, but naturally, by June 1, everyone should be registered, the deputy minister added.

Start of digital labeling of dairy products in the Russian Federation

On January 20, 2021, digital labeling of dairy products began in Russia. Any company operating in this market can voluntarily implement the technology.

According to the TASS Information Agency of Russia, before the introduction of mandatory labeling, the operator Center for the Development of Advanced Technologies (CRPT) will issue codes for free, which is designed to encourage the advance training of turnover participants.

From June 1, 2021, the mandatory labeling requirements for cheeses and ice cream will come into force, from September 1 - dairy products with a shelf life of more than 40 days and from December 1 - products with a shelf life of 40 days or less.

Voluntary digital labeling of dairy products has begun in Russia

Manufacturers will be able to choose one of three options for applying codes to goods. In addition to pasting labels and printing codes at the time of production of dairy products on the line, enterprises will be able to order packaging for their goods with labeling codes already applied in the printing house. The latter method, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, is the most economical, since milk manufacturers do not need to buy a full set of labeling equipment.

According to CRPT expert Yakov Panferov, the task of labeling lies with the importer. He himself determines where and how he will make the marking. Application can be carried out depending on the specifics - at production or at customs warehouses, this can be done by the manufacturer himself on his lines or order packaging to printing houses, including foreign ones.

According to the CRPT, by January 20, 2021, about 8.5 thousand participants in the turnover of dairy products were registered in the system, about 55 million labeling codes were issued.

According to the head of the Milk commodity group of the Center for the Development of Promising Technologies Alexei Sidorov, an earlier experiment on labeling dairy products showed that the performance of lines at the stage of product sale does not change, the introduction of labeling did not lead to an increase in the level of irretrievable scrap.^[6]

2020

Set Retail is ready to work with labeled dairy products in test mode

The Set Retail trading automation system is ready to support work with the category of labeled goods - dairy products. CSI announced this on September 10, 2020. Read more here.

The number of project participants in January increased by 75%

TPRT, operator of the state system for marking and tracing goods Honest Sign, reports a significant increase in the scale of the experiment on labeling finished dairy products. This became known on January 27, 2020.

As of January 24, 2020:

• The number of pilot participants increased by 75% - 325 companies are already participating in the experiment.
• The number of marking codes issued to participants in the experiment has increased 5-fold over the past week and exceeded 85,000 units.

According to the CPRT, on December 20, 2019, among the "pioneers" of the experiment, there were 185 companies. Micro-enterprises and large manufacturers, as well as importers, wholesalers and retail representatives join the pilot.

Surveys of the production sites of the experimental participants are being carried out to assess the applicability of various technological solutions for embedding labeling in the production process, training of employees of enterprises is being carried out.

Also, as of January 24, 2020, the number of system integrators of the first or third level who joined the pilot increased by 30% - 35 companies were participants in the pilot at the end of January 2020, at the end of 2019 there were only 27 of them.

Integrators of the first-third level are engaged in the supply of engineering components (printing equipment and computer vision) and the implementation of complex technical solutions for the integration of marking directly on production lines and implement data exchange between production equipment and automated production control systems.

The involvement of more integrators in the pilot expands the choice of solutions for dairy producers, as well as ensures the availability of integration services in all regions.

The list of vendors (manufacturers and suppliers) of engineering components that have adapted their products for labeling milk is also expanding. In addition, the pilot expands the list of laboratories on the bases of solution integrators.

The CRPT has already conducted successful labeling tests on all types of packaging materials used by the industry, including cardboard, plastic caps, plastic bags, and has also tested the most common packaging form factors.

Large printing houses, manufacturers of packaging, printing and packaging equipment began to adapt their capacities of the proposed solutions to print marking codes.

Participation in a voluntary and free pilot project will allow the industry to comfortably adjust its internal processes and move with minimal investment to mandatory product labeling, which starts on June 1, 2020.

2019

The number of project participants in December increased by 50%

As to data CRPT of December 20, 2019, 185 companies have become participants in the pilot for labeling finished dairy products. On November 22, 2019, 124 companies were the "pioneers" of the experiment. Thus, the number of project participants in December increased by 50%, maintaining the trend for connections of the previous month. Participation in a voluntary and free pilot project will allow the industry to comfortably adjust its internal processes and move to mandatory product labeling with minimal investment.

The pilot has tested the technology of printing the marking code in the printing house during the stage of manufacturing the label or packaging. This method is suitable for large and medium-sized manufacturers purchasing finished packaging. For small companies, farmers and small manufacturers, the possibility of using a thermal transfer printer (cost from 10 thousand rubles) has been tested. In addition, at the request of the industry, it was possible to find a solution for integrating the system with the Mercury veterinary certificate system. This eliminates duplication of systems - companies will be able to work with both the Honest Sign system and Mercury on the principle of one window - on a combined web platform.

More than 6 billion unique codes have already been traced in the state labeling information system. This is done to improve market transparency, product quality and safety. For manufacturers and sellers, labeling is an obvious sales driver. According to expert estimates, a decrease in the share of illegal turnover of products by 50-60% will lead to an increase in the revenue of legal producers: from 50-100 billion rubles. (with a share of illegal turnover of 5-10%).

The labeling experiment began in July 2019 and will last until the end of February 2020. The State Commission for Combating Illegal Trafficking of Products, which includes Ministry of Agriculture Russia Ministry of Industry and Trade Russia and other departments, decided to start mandatory labeling of dairy products from June 1, 2020. The decision was approved by order of Governments of the Russian Federation November 8, 2019 No. 2647-r. Registration in the experiment can be done on the website of the state information system for digital labeling and tracing честныйзнак.рф in the section on labeling finished dairy products^[7]

Start of pilot project on labeling of dairy products

On July 15, 2019, a pilot project on digital labeling of dairy products was launched in Russia. As part of the experiment, which will last until February 29, 2020, the Data Matrix digital two-dimensional code (Date Matrix) with cryptographic protection will be applied to certain categories of products, including milk, cream, condensed milk, yogurt, kefir, butter, ice cream, cheeses and cottage cheese.

 The experiment will involve manufacturers, importers of certain types of dairy products, wholesale and retail trade organizations, and the food sector.^[8]

An experiment on labeling dairy products has started in Russia

The numeric code can be scanned when checking an item, as well as when it is put into stock and sold in a store. This will protect consumers from buying expired products and make it possible to check the legality of goods using a mobile phone.

A number of departments will be involved in ensuring the procedure at once - Rospotrebnadzor, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Rosselkhoznadzor, as well as the Federal Tax Service, the Ministry of Communications, the FSB and the Federal Customs Service. The powers of the information system operator providing information support for the experiment are assigned to the Center for the Development of Advanced Technologies (CRPT).

The experiment, according to its initiators, should show the completeness and sufficiency of labeling mechanisms to prevent the illegal import, production and circulation of goods. In addition, it is planned to analyze the feasibility of introducing mandatory labeling.

Deputy Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade RFViktor Yevtukhov on the air of the Russia 24 TV channel assured that labeling dairy products will not lead to an increase in retail prices for it.

The cost of the code today is 50 kopecks, it is determined for all types of goods that are marked today. Therefore, I am sure that no increase in the cost of dairy products for the consumer will occur. On the contrary, every buyer will be able to be sure that he buys high-quality products, "he stressed.

2018: Dairy Labeling Experiment

The Government of the Russian Federation plans to conduct an experiment on labeling finished dairy products from September 1, 2018 to December 31, 2019. The draft relevant resolution was posted in July 2018 on the Government website.

CRPT (Center for the Development of Advanced Technologies) is ready to start a pilot project on September 1, 2018.

"We have been working out processes and technologies with market participants for several months," said Revaz Yusupov, Deputy General Director of the Center for the Development of Advanced Technologies.

Danone, Galactica and Karat have announced their readiness to provide their production sites for tests.

The digital technology used in the national Honest Sign digital marking system allows you to connect various goods to it and will give the consumer the opportunity to verify authenticity and verify the declared quality of the goods.

"The system is already used in tobacco and footwear. Labeling of tobacco products is proceeding at an accelerated pace and has proven to be effective. The Honest Sign system will be associated with the Mercury EMU system: Mercury will trace milk from the farm to the plant, and the Honest Sign from the plant to the buyer, "Yusupov said.

The digital code Data Matrix (Date Matrix) will be used to mark finished dairy products.

Total Turnover Control System

• State Information System for Marking Goods
• Counterfeit Goods Monitoring System
• National Commodity Traceability System (NSP)
• CRPT: National Catalogue
• System of accounting (marking) of tobacco products
• Monitoring of Drug Product Movement
• Digital labeling of footwear products
• Mineral and potable bottled water labeling
• Labeling of dairy products
• RFID-labeling of alcohol in Russia
• Perfume labelling
• Digital labeling of toys and creative goods
• State system in the field of control over the turnover of precious metals, precious stones and products from them (GIIS DMDK)
• Marking of fur coats and fur products
• Animal labelling

• A system of total control of trade turnover is being created in Russia

Notes