Consumer market watchdog, Ukoopspilka present 'Caring for Ukraine' labels for foods
Kyiv, January 17 (Interfax-Ukraine) - The State Inspectorate for the Protection of Consumers' Rights of Ukraine (Derzhspozhyvstandard) and the Ukrainian Cooperative Union (Ukoopspilka) have developed special labels for foods produced in Ukraine.
Only those producers whose foods are made of natural domestic raw materials and that meet national quality standards will be able to use labels carrying the "Z turbotoyu pro ukrayinske (Caring for Ukraine)" slogan, Derzhspozhyvstandard chief Serhiy Orekhov said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.
He also said that this was a social-oriented voluntary project and its goal is to draw Ukrainians' attention to the advantages of domestically produced foods.
Vladyslav Honcharenko, the chairman of Ukoopspilka's board, said in turn that Ukoopspilka's enterprises were the first to join the project.
He said foods with such labels would appear in Ukoopspilka's stores as early as January 18, 2012.
"We've already ordered 50,000 of these labels. Tomorrow they will be in the stores. In the first stage, these will be the stores of consumers' cooperative societies located mainly in rural areas," he added.
He said the labeled products will include pasta, cereals and confectionary products, as well as canned foods produced by 10 Ukoopspilka companies in Crimea, Zakarpattia, Khmelnytsky, Mykolaiv and other regions.
Orekhov expressed hope that other Ukrainian producers will join in the project.
"As of today we have had several applications from domestic producers who are ready to take part in our campaign," he said.
He said that in order to be authorized to use the labels, producers have to arrange laboratory checks at their own expense to confirm that their foods meet the standards, and then get registered at Derzhspozhyvstandard.
He said the laboratory costs are between UAH 500-1,500 "depending on the volumes and the type of food."
As was reported, Ukoopspilka unites over 10,500 stores in villages and towns, 265 factories and 423 markets (more than 15%).
In 2010, Ukoopspilka's retail trade amounted to EUR452 million.
Its core business includes the retail and wholesale trade, the management of markets, the hospitality business, the purchases of farm produce and the production of foods, as well as banking and insurance.