In the Soviet era, the GOSTs – the abbreviation stands for “State Standard” – were the most important benchmark for food manufacturers: they specified the fat content, the degree of processing, the avoidance of potentially harmful additives and much more. In general, they were the binding “gold standard” that forced manufacturers to produce safe and healthy food. After the Perestroika, they were hastily abolished and then reintroduced – but since then, they are more of an option for manufacturers. They can orient themselves by them or not. Every company has its own “technical specifications” that do not necessarily guarantee a 100% safety and health of the food products. This is about to change.
The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade has proposed an amendment to the standardization law: if product manufacturers use their own technical specifications, these must not contradict the GOSTs, according to the newspaper Izvestia. In essence, the ministry is proposing to make the GOSTs for food manufacturers mandatory and to abolish the manufacturers’ own technical specifications. The ministry is also proposing to require manufacturers to submit their technical specifications, by which they produce goods, for inspection. Izvestia reports: “The ministry believes that food manufacturers should not set requirements in their technical specifications that would deteriorate the properties of the goods or contradict the conditions of national norms. This is evident from the documents prepared for the second reading, Izvestia learned. The Ministry of Industry and Trade intends to oblige the industry to comply with the GOST norms, which are voluntary in Russia. In the alcohol industry, there is already a similar approach: it is impossible to bring alcohol products to the large retail chains without meeting the state standards.”
The major producers have already urged the Agriculture Ministry not to support the ministry’s proposal. The introduction of this change could lead to some products disappearing from the shelves, they say. The reason for this is that the GOSTs are not updated too often and therefore do not keep pace with the changing technological conditions. For example, the addition of vitamins and minerals, not prescribed in the GOSTs, would be banned until the necessary changes are made. “This will hinder the development and production of new products, including enriched and specialized products (baby food, diabetics’ functional, sports food, etc.)” they explained.