The Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation has published draft law that would regulate manufacture, sale and classification of “organic” and “environmentally friendly” food and raw materials. The project defines “environmentally friendly” products as agricultural products, raw materials and foodstuffs produced in bulk according to modern agricultural and industrial technologies using a limited group of fertilizers and other agrochemicals, plant protection products, feed, feed and food additives that are safe for humans and the environment. Production of such food and other products is subject to a number of requirements, including the following:
- monitoring of soils of agricultural lands intended for its production, in relation to the content of substances and organisms potentially dangerous to humans;
- use of agrochemicals that are safe for humans and the environment;
- sound use of agrochemicals based on a calculation compiled by a specialist with higher professional education in the specialty "Agronomy", including the use of special software;
- compliance by the manufacturer with the adopted technological regulations governing the process of handling waste generated during manufacture of such products, which should be aimed at recycling of such waste as a priority way of handling it; and
- absence of chemical and biological substances in the final product that are potentially hazardous to humans.
The rules for the production of environmentally friendly products are to be set out separately, by additional national and interstate standards.
The draft law provides for the voluntary conformity assessment of products and production to the specified standards by accredited certification bodies with the issuance of certificates of conformity and listing the manufacturer in the Unified State Register of Manufacturers of Organic Products. After confirming the conformity of production, manufacturers receive the right to place the relevant markings on their products.
The project also revises the term “organic products” used in the Law on Organic Products. This term would be applied to products manufactured by a production process that has been certified for conformity to national, interstate and international standards governing the manufacture of organic products.
If adopted, the draft law is to enter into force on 1 January 2021.