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Russian prosecutors open hotline for reports on sale of sanctioned food

MOSCOW, August 18. /TASS/. The Russian Prosecutor-General's Office has opened a hotline for reporting the facts of illegal imports and sale of food banned for import into Russia, the press service of the Prosecutor-General’s Office told TASS on Tuesday.

"Russia’s Prosecutor-General’s Office has organized a hotline to receive messages about illegal imports and sales of banned products," the press service said.

Russia introduced a package of counter-measures last August in retaliation for sanctions imposed by the United States, the 28-nation European Union, Australia, Canada and Norway against Moscow over its stance on developments in neighbouring Ukraine. Russia’s counter-sanctions involved a one-year ban on most food imports of meat, fish, dairy, fruit and vegetables worth $9 billion a year from countries imposing sanctions against Moscow. In June, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to extend Russia’s embargo on Western products until August 2016. On August 13, Russia added Albania, Montenegro, Iceland and Liechtenstein to the list of countries subjected to counter-sanctions.

"Meanwhile, unscrupulous suppliers are importing these products without due quality control and without complying with the conditions of transportation and storage, which may be dangerous for citizens’ health," the Russian Prosecutor-General’s Office said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on destroying food products under the Russian embargo on July 29, 2015. On August 6, the Russian watchdogs started implementing the decree.