A group of parliamentarians from the "United Russia" faction has developed a draft law allowing to counteract the resale of counterfeit dairy products in state and municipal procurement.
According to the proposed bill, when receiving goods from a supplier (contractor or performer) during the execution of a contract, acceptance documents must contain information about the veterinary accompanying document number for each batch of supplied dairy products. In order to ensure verification of this number and the information contained in it, it is proposed to automatically establish a data exchange channel between the "VetIS" information system used by the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) and the Unified Information System in the field of procurement (EIS) owned by the Federal Treasury before making a decision on payment under the contract. In other words, it is necessary to integrate these systems. This will prevent payment for products for which traceability through the "VetIS" system is not confirmed, including information on the fat and protein content at the production stage.
The explanatory note to the bill indicates that the most common type of counterfeit dairy products is the substitution of milk fats with vegetable fats, which are not only cheaper but also have different taste, odor, chemical properties, and nutritional value. Kuznetsov explains that this proposal is primarily designed to ensure social institutions receive quality and healthy dairy products and prevent health problems among the population, including children, when purchasing dairy products for kindergartens, schools, hospitals, and similar institutions. He also noted that to combat the substitution of milk fats, it is necessary to use the "Mercury" information system of Rosselkhoznadzor, which allows tracking the condition of products "from farm to consumer." After consideration by the faction's expert council on legislative activities, this draft will be submitted to the State Duma. His colleague, Dmitry Lotsmanov, a member of the Committee on Agrarian Issues, considers the substitution of milk fats a violation that is unacceptable in state and municipal procurement.
Purchases of dairy and other products are carried out in accordance with Federal Law No. 44 "On the Contract System for Procurement of Goods, Works, Services for State and Municipal Needs."