The Ministry of Industry and Trade proposes to introduce mandatory pet food labeling in Russia starting from October 1, 2024. The corresponding draft government decree is currently under discussion.
According to the project, from September 1, 2024, participants of this industry sector will begin to submit applications for registration in the monitoring information system. Then, from October 1, 2024, labeling will become mandatory for dry pet food, and from March 1, 2025, for wet pet food.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade believes that mandatory dry and wet pet food labeling will help reduce the share of illegal goods turnover and make the market more transparent. Moreover, according to the department’s specialists, domestic pet diets production is growing at a rapid pace, which may lead to an increase in the share of unscrupulous market participants.
Previously, analysts from SoyaNews calculated that for the first 11 months of 2023, pet food production in Russia increased by 0.3% compared to the same period in 2022.
The need to label pet food will lead to an expansion of the responsibilities of sellers. Participants in the turnover of labeled goods will have to provide to the monitoring information system:
- information on the introduction into circulation, circulation, and withdrawal from goods circulation in accordance with the labeling rules for individual goods for which mandatory labeling is itroduced;
- information for the purpose of applying the ban on retail sale of goods – in accordance with the rules for applying the ban on the sale of goods subject to mandatory labeling.
Industry representatives tried to fight the introduction of product labeling. As Kirill Dmitriev, President of the National Association of the Pet Industry, told Zooinform, the Mercury system with similar functionality already exists and is successfully applied in the pet business. All cargoes under state veterinary control on the territory of Russia are accompanied by mandatory electronic documentation, providing a comprehensive overview of the origin and movement of goods. A huge budget was allocated for the development and implementation of Mercury at the time. The duplicating scheme is not only impractical but also dangerous, as it will inevitably lead to confusion and colossal costs, which will fall on the shoulders of manufacturers, and they will inevitably pass them on to the cost of goods.
The requirement for labeling affected not only pet food manufacturers – pharmaceutical companies producing veterinary drugs also became participants in the experiment.
