The Public Council under Rospotrebnadzor has proposed introducing mandatory "Traffic Light" type food labeling in Russia and highlighting products with high salt, sugar and fat content in red, Izvestia has learnt.

The initiative concerns all industrially produced goods with the exception of mineral water and spices. Products with normal values of substances are proposed to be marked in green. The labels are not supposed to be placed on packages, but on price tags, both in online and offline shops.

Dmitry Yanin, the chairman of the board of the International Confederation of Consumer Societies, who has participated in the discussion of innovations, said the publication that the implementation of the new initiative will not require investment from producers and will not affect the products that are sent for export. According to him, the purpose of the labeling is to reduce the level of non-communicable diseases in Russia, for example, to reduce the number of obesity diagnoses.

He added that the amendments may be made to the rules for the sale of certain types of goods, which are set out in a government decree.

Made in Russia

Karina Kamalova