The Belarusian Deputy Health Minister and chief state sanitary officer, Igor Gayevsky, has signed a decree banning the re-export to Russia of feminine hygiene products made by Procter & Gamble Ukraine.

Under the document, the Russian consumer rights watchdog (Rospotrebnadzor) suspends the import into Russia of feminine panty liners, tampons and similar products made by Procter & Gamble Ukraine due to their failure to meet hygienic requirements.

For its part, Belarus, guided by the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and Customs Union regulations, bans export and import of these products into Russia from May 9.

The document instructs the State Customs Committee to send Procter and Gamble Ukraine panty liners and tampons for sanitary-quarantine control.

The Belarusian Ministry of Trade, Interior Ministry, the National Standards Committee (Gosstandart) BelCoopSoyuz, BelPharmacy, the regional and Minsk executive committees have been instructed to tighten control over the distribution of Ukrainian feminine hygiene products and prevent their delivery to Russia.

The shipping documentation should also be stamped with an inscription, "Import from the territory of the Republic of Belarus into the Russian Federation for further distribution is prohibited."

The chief sanitary officer has also instructed relevant authorities in administrative territories to take samples of such products to confirm if they meet the Belarusian and EEU legal requirements. In case of any instance of violation of the sanitary-epidemiological laws, sanitary officials are allowed to take "exhaustive measures" as provided by the law.