Russia launches national certification system for vegetarian products

Rosakcreditatsiya has accredited the Roskachestvo certification body "Roskachestvo - Vegan". Vegan and vegetarian products in Russia will now receive special labeling. In 2021, a working group on plant-based products was formed in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). This made it possible to approve the ISO 23662:2021 standard, which consolidated the definitions and technical criteria for food products and ingredients suitable for vegetarians or vegans. Thus, at the international level, it was recognized that plant-based products are a separate type of food product, allocated to an independent group. Russian manufacturers of vegetarian products began to actively undergo certification in the certification bodies of the European Union and the United States. However, in mid-2022, foreign bodies stopped certifying and inspecting Russian enterprises, and it became necessary to create our own infrastructure for this developing market. In connection with this trend, ...