Country of origin requirements (COOL)
According to the Agreement on the Rules for Determining the Country of Origin of Goods in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) concluded in Yalta November 20, 2009 country of origin of goods means the country in which the goods have been fully produced or sufficiently processed. The criterion of fully produced or sufficiently processed can be expressed by the fulfilment of a number of conditions, the main of which is a change in the commodity item according to the Commodity Nomenclature of Foreign Economic Activities (TN VED) at least at the level of one of the first four digits, which occurred as a result of producing/processing.
According to the Customs Code of the EAEU (current members of the EAEU are Republic of Armenia, Republic of Belarus, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic and Russian Federation), it is necessary to confirm the origin of goods by a declaration of origin or a certificate of origin.
A declaration of origin of goods contains information on the origin of goods declared by the manufacturer, seller or shipper of the country of origin of goods or the country of export of goods. A certificate of origin of goods is issued by an authorized state body or an authorized organization of the country of origin of goods or the country of export of goods.
A certificate of origin of goods exporting from the EAEU is issued under the terms of a contract, the rules of the country of importation of goods or the rules for determining the origin of exported goods. The document confirming that the country of origin of goods is the CIS countries, including the Russian Federation, is a certificate issued by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation.
Definitions of vegetarian and vegan
There are no specific legal regulations for vegetarian and vegan foods in the Russian Federation. However, according to the Federal Law No. 184-FZ dated December 27, 2002 “On Technical Regulation” it is possible to register products on voluntary certification system.
The purpose of voluntary certification system is obtaining a vegan/vegetarian certificate. The certificate is issued on a voluntary basis, i.e. at the request of the applicant. The applicants can be manufacturers, sellers, importers or catering (i.e. various catering facilities as restaurants, cafes, home delivery, etc.).
If compliance check with voluntary certification system for vegetarian/vegan products was successful, a vegan certificate is issued to the applicant. Since then, the company can apply a special quality label (e.g. “VEGAN”) on the product packaging.
Fortification of foods
According to the MR 2.3.7.0168–20 Methodological recommendations approved by the Chief State Sanitary Doctor of the Russian Federation dated March 20, 2020 enriched food products can be bread and bakery products, cereal products (extruded breakfasts), juice products, food concentrates, dairy products, oil and fat products.
The consumer package of the enriched food product should contain the word “enriched” in the name of such products or in its immediate vicinity. Moreover, the package should contain (i) the names of macro- and micronutrients (including protein, dietary fibers, vitamins, minerals, probiotic microorganisms, etc.) introduced into the composition of such products, (ii) guaranteed content of these nutritional substances at the end of the shelf life of the food product in mg per 100 g or average daily portion of the product, (iii) percentage of the daily physiological need in these nutritional substances, and (iv) recommendations for use of such products, if any.
The Decision of the Customs Union Commission No. 299 dated May 28, 2010 “On the application of sanitary measures in the Eurasian Economic Union” set the forms of vitamins, vitamin-like substances and minerals for use in the manufacture of enriched food product. Moreover, the Technical Regulations of the Customs Union has set out the types and amounts of food substances which are possible to use to enrichment of food products.
Cannabis as an ingredient in food or supplements
Within the Russian legislative framework cannabis is a prohibited and strictly regulated substance. According to the Federal Law N 3-FZ dated January 08, 1998 “On Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances” and the Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 681 dated June 30, 1998 cannabis is included in the list of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors, the circulation of which in the Russian Federation is prohibited (List I).
The prohibited substances are cannabis itself, cannabis oil, cannabis resin in the amount of more than 6 grams of cannabis. Violation of cannabis ban leads to criminal liability under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.