SPPRO sent proposals on standards for plant products to Rosstandart

The Union of Producers of Plant-Based Products (SPPRO) sent its proposals for the formulation of definitions of plant-based products to the Federal Agency for Technical Regulation and Metrology (Rosstandart).

This year, a non-profit association of companies producing innovative products from vegetable raw materials developed the first five draft editions of state standards: for vegetable semi-finished products, boiled sausages based on alternative protein, ice cream, cream cheese and imitation of condensed MILK from vegetable milk substitutes.

One of the wordings submitted for consideration by Rosstandart is as follows: “Plant-based products are food products in which ingredients of animal origin are replaced with vegetable ones, intended for consumption as a substitute / alternative / equivalent to products of animal origin (MEAT and dairy products, as well as other categories products containing products of animal origin), with or without the addition of food additives, flavors and processing aids.  

According to the development participants, such a long definition is the result of a long and heated discussion in the SPPRO standardization committee. As a result, it was formed from six components and was approved unanimously. The executive DIRECTOR of the union, Valeria Rodina, noted that this option should be considered as a consolidated position of the industry. The lack of a clear definition and existing national standards limits the ability to promote food innovation and slows down the development of the segment as a whole, she argues. 

Recently, when discussing the prospects for the EXPORT of Russian plant-based products, Valeria identified the main obstacle to entering foreign markets: the lack of separate HS codes of the EAEU, which can result in erroneous identification and unreasonable requirements for this category of food products - for example, veterinary control.

According to the HEAD, SPPRO is open to constructive cooperation with all relevant committees of Rosstandart in order to eliminate gaps in the regulatory framework.