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Cheese, tomatoes, peaches among sanctioned foods slated for destruction in Russia

20 tons of cheese, two vanloads of tomatoes and three truckloads of peaches and nectarines will be destroyed in Smolensk and Belgorod in western Russia

MOSCOW, August 6. /TASS/. The Russian agricultural watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor has agreed a procedure with the Federal Customs Service to destroy sanctioned cheese in Orenburg in the south Urals, Rosselkhoznadzor spokeswoman Yulia Melano said on Thursday.

The foodstuffs covered by Russia’s embargo and illegally brought into the country will also be destroyed in Smolensk and Belgorod in west Russia, the spokeswoman said.

"The Orenburg customs house has given its approval. We expect the destruction of products to start at 5-6 hours local time [15:00-16:00 Moscow time]," she said.

A total of 20 tons of cheese are slated for destruction, she added.

"The cheese is called Russian but has Latvian labels. At the same time, the products were delivered from Kazakhstan while the driver was a German national," the Rosselkhoznadzor spokeswoman said.

The cheese will be destroyed with the help of special machinery at a special site, she said.

"The site has all the necessary permits for this," she added.

However, the Orenburg customs house has agreed the procedure for the destruction of sanctioned products only after the relevant statement by Rosselkhoznadzor appeared in the press, she said.

Also, Rosselkhoznadzor plans to destroy two vanloads of tomatoes and three truckloads of peaches and nectarines in Smolensk on Thursday. In Belgorod, special machines will be used to destroy 7 tons of cheese that was brought from the territory of Ukraine, Melano said.

The issue of banned food destruction in St. Petersburg has not yet been decided, she said.

The Russian government earlier issued orders to the Federal Customs Service, agricultural watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor and consumer rights watchdog Rospotrebnadzor to destroy all products on the sanction list the moment they enter Russian territory. Under the government resolution, the destruction of banned products is to begin as of today.

Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachyov came out with a proposal for taking measures to destroy on site the goods featuring on the sanction list at the president’s meeting with government ministers on July 24. President Vladimir Putin supported the idea.