Astana, August 5 (Interfax-Kazakhstan) – The Committee for State Sanitary and Epidemiological Supervision at the Health Ministry of Kazakhstan has conducted an inspection of seven types of confectionery produced by Ukraine's Roshen Corporation, and benzopyrene was not found, the chairman of the committee, Zhandarbek Bekshin, has said.
“We examined a large amount of products. First and foremost, we check
whether benzopyrene is present. We inspected seven types of products,
and benzopyrene was not found,” he said at a briefing in Astana on
Monday.
He said that benzopyrene, first and foremost, could be found in food
that is prepared by burning different fuels – smoked sausage and fish,
and kebabs. The substance can also be found in motor vehicle emissions
and tobacco smoke.
Bekshin noted that the checks, which are still ongoing, were
conducted in Almaty and Astana, the cities that imported the largest
amount of Roshen products. In general, Roshen products account for
15-20% of the confectionery market in Kazakhstan.
Speaking about the possibility of imposing a ban on the supply of
Roshen products to Kazakhstan because of their non-compliance with the
legislation of the Customs Union, he said: “This study is currently
being conducted. We addressed Rospotrebnadzor officials last week, but
we have not yet received an official response. Only on the receipt of an
official response will we be able to make a decision regarding a ban on
these products.”
On July 29, 2013, Rospotrebnadzor imposed a ban on the
deliveries of confectionaries from Ukrainian facilities of Roshen
Corporation over improper quality. The corporation denies the
accusations.
Roshen operates confectionery factories in Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Mariupol
and Kremenchuk, Bershadmoloko dairy producer, a stud farm in Ukraine and
also confectionary facilities in Klaipeda (Lithuania) and Lipetsk
(Russia).
The company produces up to 200 types of confectionaries. Its total annual production volume is up to 410,000 tonnes.
