Russia halts import of Finnish food

[LineDoggie]

Maybe they've been eating sub standard for so long they prefer it's taste? for most of the world Pastuerization & Homogenization is a good thing. In the end, their choice, and the Finns are increasing exports to Western Europe so someone thinks their products are better.

[Jippo]

Certification is not the same as Quality.

I am familiar with the system. Like all systems it has its faults, but I have yet to find better international system for QC.

[CaptMorgan68]

I am familiar with the system. Like all systems it has its faults, but I have yet to find better international system for QC.

Russia mostly imports these products so there is little need for receiving the ISO certification.. in the future though the Russian producers might have to get smth like that if they hope to be exporting any of their stuff to EU.. but that day is not going to come any time soon IMHO

[Flamming_Python]

I am familiar with the system. Like all systems it has its faults, but I have yet to find better international system for QC.

Well maybe, I don't know anything about the food industry.

[Mr.K]

Maybe they've been eating sub standard for so long they prefer it's taste? for most of the world Pastuerization & Homogenization is a good thing. In the end, their choice, and the Finns are increasing exports to Western Europe so someone thinks their products are better.

Keep on drinking your monsanto "milk".
Oh yeah, "increasing exports" easy to say, why do you thing the finns are so pissed right now.

[PEMM]

It's possible. Maybe there's area(or areas) where the "hate" is concentrated. Nevertheless, considering the Russians are absolutely neutral to Finns(or were, before these maybe over-stretched scandals), no matter the location...:roll:

Could there be explanation like this: events from last 100 years between Finland and Russia concerned much larger percentage of finnish population than russian, and most people that live on that border region of russia moved there after the war, in other words, what reason would they have to hate finns? In other hand almost all evacuees (my grandmother was one of them) from Karelia settled in western Finland. Its quite logical that their kids would keep the reserved attitude towards russians. Next generation will probably be much better on this matter.

[Extobulite]

Ive said this in another thread and ill say it here: Russian produced poultry, dairy and bread products are very good and I wish i could buy it here in US in a regular supermarket instead of driving to Brooklyn NY. Same goes for deli processed meat for sandwiches, quality is superb in Russia itself and in Brooklyn, the taste is outstanding, ive never found any better processed meat in US. I will not vouch for fresh meat since i havent tried much of it while visiting Russia recently.

Finnish ban might not be related quality of Finnish products and another reason could be behind it, but Snoshi really needs to get his head out of the gutter.

[Grey Stoat]

Good for you.:)

[M253]

It is actually quite hilarious to watch some of these arguments: "Russian food products are at least as good as Finnish products, often even better, so it is good that we impose a ban on importing Finnish foods!". In normal world if imported products are inferior to domestic ones in everything, people stop buying them and it wont be sufficient to continue importing them. In Russia however people seem to be too stupid to understand what they like and so it is the duty of the state to help them to decide correctly by banning the puny alternatives who are defining the laws of supply and demand. Russians should just admit that either their majority can not perform simple rational decisions or that they do not want to play free trade and that they will keep imposing arbitrary trade barriers, even though Adam Smith showed already at 1776 that it is not beneficial way in the long run. Either way, it is not looking that good for anyone at the moment.

[p2pPower]

If I have understood right some of new Ladas have been already banned some time ago cause they doesent meet safety regulations.


In Soviet Russia, u drink the milk Czar Putin sez u drink. If only mrs. Prime Minister of Finland showed some balls and forbade the importing of Lada's, because looking at them can make people blind due to ugliness so road safety is in danger.

[LineDoggie]

Keep on drinking your monsanto "milk".
Oh yeah, "increasing exports" easy to say, why do you thing the finns are so pissed right now.My Monsanto Milk doesnt glow nor it is made in former tank factory no.19

[Robert.V]

P.S Btw, I'll prefer Russian milk and milk-products any day. "Foreign" milk-products are just water in comparison.


Milk here is damn good ...can't say the same about the milk products though. Have you tried any milk based products from the Baltics ? ..they used to be top notch back in the days.


My Monsanto Milk doesnt glow nor it is made in former tank factory no.19


If anyone needs a damn fool, i'm your man.

[Russianlynxy]

Milk here is damn good ...can't say the same about the milk products though. Have you tried any milk based products from the Baltics ? ..they used to be top notch back in the days.

Lithuanian is good.

Also Netherlands is no surprise. Dutch cows are the best cows, some Russian farms import them as well.

[intelligenzija]

Could there be explanation like this: events from last 100 years between Finland and Russia concerned much larger percentage of finnish population than russian, and most people that live on that border region of russia moved there after the war, in other words, what reason would they have to hate finns? In other hand almost all evacuees (my grandmother was one of them) from Karelia settled in western Finland. Its quite logical that their kids would keep the reserved attitude towards russians. Next generation will probably be much better on this matter.

btw, never experienced any bad attitude against Finns in Russia - in Karelia region I heard actually only good words from locals about Finns, especially because of some investments and their attitutde towards environmental questions (personal experience, might not reflect general stance)

[Breerman]

Discussing dairy products... What is this, Desperate Housewives?

[Russianlynxy]

I'd say the attitude in Russia toward Finland and Finns is much more neutral, even positive than in Finland toward Russians.
There are substantial numbers of Finns last time I was in St Pete. no real antagonism from either side really.. If anything Finns have a reputation of "happy drunks", because you can often spot them in city bars and buying large amounts of alcohol in bulk. (must be expensive in Finland)

[intelligenzija]

I'd say the attitude in Russia toward Finland and Finns is much more neutral, even positive than in Finland toward Russians.
There are substantial numbers of Finns last time I was in St Pete. no real antagonism from either side really.. If anything Finns have a reputation of "happy drunks", because you can often spot them in city bars and buying large amounts of alcohol in bulk. (must be expensive in Finland)

http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9E%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8_%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D0%BE%D1%85%D0%BE%D1%82%D1%8B

:D

[Hyde]

In normal world if imported products are inferior to domestic ones in everything, people stop buying them and it wont be sufficient to continue importing them.

Wrong. Consumers will buy imported products if they think that they are of better quality just because they are imported, even if their quality is "only" on par with the domestic products. Just look at the USA, they majored in that field.

[Russianlynxy]

http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9E%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8_%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D0%BE%D1%85%D0%BE%D1%82%D1%8B

:D

great movie, Rybalka is good too.

[Breerman]

Wrong. Consumers will buy imported products if they think that they are of better quality just because they are imported, even if their quality is "only" on par with the domestic products. Just look at the USA, they majored in that field.
I don't know where you get that from. Speciality products/brands excluded imported foods are not preferred by the consumers and are marketed at a lower price.

[LineDoggie]

Wrong. Consumers will buy imported products if they think that they are of better quality just because they are imported, even if their quality is "only" on par with the domestic products. Just look at the USA, they majored in that field.Yeah we all drive Ladas.....

[Russianlynxy]

Yeah we all drive Ladas.....

soon you will be driving Chinese trash, slave! p-)

[LineDoggie]

If anyone needs a damn fool, i'm your man. . Sad Robert, you seem to have this fixation with me, I'm sorry but I'm Hetero******. Sorry to dissapoint you

[Arbody]

I
There are substantial numbers of Finns last time I was in St Pete. no real antagonism from either side really.. If anything Finns have a reputation of "happy drunks", because you can often spot them in city bars and buying large amounts of alcohol in bulk. (must be expensive in Finland)
They are happy drunks only abroad , St.Pitersburg , Riga , Talin ect. and depressed at home thats why they luve knifes and guns ;) .

[Arbody]

I'm sorry but I'm Hetero******. Sorry to dissapoint you You just broke my heart (u_u) (sad panda)

[Hyde]

Yeah we all drive Ladas.....

Read properly.
"If they think that it's superior just because its imported". Image plays a huge role. That's why you drink Evian for 5 Dollars instead of regular bottled water for 50 Cents. That's why you drive a VW Jetta, Merc C-Class or BMW 5er instead of a Ford Taurus, Ford Fusion or Cadillac CTS/DTS. And the list just goes on and on.

Russian products don't have a good image, that's why they aren't in demand in the West, even if that image may be completely wrong. It can be perfectly seen in this thread when one member asked "I have a hard time believing that Finnish food standards are lower than Russians????". What does he know about Russian food standards? Nothing, not about Russian and not about Finnish food standards. So it could very well be that Russian Food Standards are a lot more strict than Finnish, EU or US food standards. But he, and everyone else here, automatically assumes that the Russian food standards are lower than the "Western" ones. Why? Because Russia has a bad image in the west, because it is still regarded "inferior" and portrayed in a certain stereotypical, almost "comical", way in the Media on a daily basis. The "Real Russia" is never seen on TV, that's why none of you, including me, knows what Russia really looks like. And "the Media" has no interest in showing us, because that's not what you make money with. It's not their fking Job to work on transnational understanding and good relations on a human basis, they don't have to care about that, what is important for them is the product they deliver to the viewers, and "Inferior, Wild, Backwards, Undeveloped, Sub-Standard Soviet Russia" is that kind of product and a well selling one, too. And as can be seen in this thread, people want to believe in that product, I really believe to some extent that there are some people who really NEED that kind of picture of Russia in their heads and want it to be proven to them as often as possible, and they react very allergic if someone would try to educate them a little and show them another side of Russia that doesn't fit their views, and that's why that product will never change, because "What is Russia really like?" is not a product that is in demand. And for that reason Russian products will always have it harder for the west, if they don't appear with a Western partner that gives the customers some trust in the Russian product, which they don't trust otherwise.

[Kilgor]

Ask people what Russia exports and they would say probably: oil, gas, vodka, tanks and guns. What reaches consumers around the world would be very limited.

The problem is simple.. Russian products still suffer from the soviet legacy. Shoddy consumer products and a lack of modernisation stemming from the problems in the 1990's . (awful cars and toilet paper comes to mind)

Its up to Russia producers to step up and prove that their products are as superior and stop playing the victim card as usual. Perceptions about countries take a long time to change.

Id still rather buy a car made in Japan or Western Europe even though build standards should be consistent along factory plants. Its all about perception.

[Mr Gently Benevolent]

What does he know about Russian food standards? Nothing, not about Russian and not about Finnish food standards. So it could very well be that Russian Food Standards are a lot more strict than Finnish, EU or US food standards. But he, and everyone else here, automatically assumes that the Russian food standards are lower than the "Western" ones. Why? Because Russia has a bad image in the west, because it is still regarded "inferior" and portrayed in a certain stereotypical, almost "comical", way in the Media on a daily basis.Food safety standards are by and large pretty much the same around most of the world its the issue of enforcement of and adherence to standards which varies greatly. I for one do not regard the Russians as inferior but I do believe they have developed a culture of "who gives a f*ck" when it comes to the enforcement of the very stringent Russian food safety guidelines, with underfunded and undermanned enforcement agencies its not surprising standards are slipping and the same is happening certain EU states.

[JUNKHO]

Ask people what Russia exports and they would say probably: oil, gas, vodka, tanks and guns. What reaches consumers around the world would be very limited.

The problem is simple.. Russian products still suffer from the soviet legacy. Shoddy consumer products and a lack of modernisation stemming from the problems in the 1990's . (awful cars and toilet paper comes to mind)

Its up to Russia producers to step up and prove that their products are as superior and stop playing the victim card as usual. Perceptions about countries take a long time to change.

Id still rather buy a car made in Japan or Western Europe even though build standards should be consistent along factory plants. Its all about perception.

Correct! In the late 50s and early 60 the cars ( and other products) from Japan and Western Europe had no cred in the U.S. so = no/low sales

Over the long haul, when their products demonstrated their worth,U.S. manufacturers started playing the victim card to try to sustain sales being lost to superior products.

And here we are!

[JRT]

I have no expertise on the food industry, nor have I a clue about food production standards in the EU or Russia for that matter. If Russia has higher standards, so be it, if there are real flaws in Finnish production, so be it. It's not like anyone has to force the Russians to eat foreign food they don't want to eat. I don't have a preference over Finnish food, I buy Swedish yoghurt, French cheese, German wine, Spanish tomatos and Polish potatos. As a kid I drank milk that was squeezed from a cow's ******* 5 minutes before. I doubt the Russian cows have any different milk, and don't really give a fvck.

The problem lies with the inconsistencies in the Russian trade. Trade in the border is randomly blocked by Russian customs and there are sometimes 50-60 kilometer long truck queues on this side of the border. The next week everything works normally with no queues. One month a Finnish company rents land from Russia and starts the construction of facilities. A few months more and chaps with leather jackets come and declare the rent deal null and void. The inconsistencies affect civilian cross-border movement too, this week you need 7 stamps and the next week you need only 3 and the week after that 8 stamps and 3 signatures and a Russian insurance.

These inconsistencies exist not because of political will in Moscow but because the civil servants and different organizations seem to have a will of their own without proper political control. The major areas of trade, for example energy trade, which is quite well in governmental hands, has been extremely reliable. Finland has imported Soviet / Russian natural gas for 30 years. Not once has there been a problem in the Russian deliveries. The dubious acts of different Russian organizations excell in making Russian trade a risky business, and this act is dubious in it's nature. What makes it more interesting is that the dairy trade blockade isn't enforced but was given a delay.

And for once, I can say I agree with MareCar.

[AlexMartin2]

I cannot provide a link, but I read and seen on TV several times, that most of Russian food standards are more strict than EU standards and especially US standards.

MareCar, and JRT, completely agree with both of you. Good to see sane discussion in such flamatory thread.

[Russianlynxy]

These inconsistencies exist not because of political will in Moscow but because the civil servants and different organizations seem to have a will of their own without proper political control. The major areas of trade, for example energy trade, which is quite well in governmental hands, has been extremely reliable. Finland has imported Soviet / Russian natural gas for 30 years. Not once has there been a problem in the Russian deliveries. The dubious acts of different Russian organizations excell in making Russian trade a risky business, and this act is dubious in it's nature. What makes it more interesting is that the dairy trade blockade isn't enforced but was given a delay.


Interesting take on it. Convincing, Probably closest to the truth.

[Kangars]

Good post MareCar! Completely agree.

[Breerman]

Read properly.
"If they think that it's superior just because its imported". Image plays a huge role. That's why you drink Evian for 5 Dollars instead of regular bottled water for 50 Cents.
You're talking about speciality products/brands. Other than that imported foods are not preferred by the consumers and are marketed at a lower price. Spanish cucumbers cost a fraction of Swedish cucumbers, Polish strawberries are much cheaper than Swedish strawberries, Danish pork is cheaper than Swedish pork etc. The food that have the highest prices are organic products produced as close to the consumer as possible.


I cannot provide a link, but I read and seen on TV several times, that most of Russian food standards are more strict than EU standards and especially US standards.
They probably choose to portray it as that because they have different rules but in reality that's hardly the case. In EU all cows, pigs etc. have personal id-numbers, in Russia not even all people have it.

[JRT]

In EU all cows, pigs etc. have personal id-numbers

I wonder if this is really the case in a random rural farm in Romania for example.

[Breerman]

I wonder if this is really the case in a random rural farm in Romania for example.
Since it's connected to EU support to farmers they either have it or it's being implemented over a transitional period. But I'm far from an expert on Romanian farms.

[Custos]

I wonder if this is really the case in a random rural farm in Romania for example.

You have to have it if you want to sell the product in a shop or export it.

[jokuvaan]

One new ban example has been reveiled, this from Snellman. They dont have own water refinery, they use water from municipality network. If you know anything about Finnish tap water, ban reason is of course absurd, but naturally in Russia, like most places in the World, it makes perfect sense to have own water cleaning.

CEO Martti Vähäkangas says that they are not going to change anything as Russian regulations might violate EU regulations, they have everything in order, problem is political.
"Biggest problem is that in Russia there are very independent authoritative agencies who do not communicate with each other, now one of these, similar to our EVIRA has caused this"

[Mr Gently Benevolent]

One new ban example has been reveiled, this from Snellman. They dont have own water refinery, they use water from municipality network. If you know anything about Finnish tap water, ban reason is of course absurd, but naturally in Russia, like most places in the World, it makes perfect sense to have own water cleaning.

CEO Martti Vähäkangas says that they are not going to change anything as Russian regulations might violate EU regulations, they have everything in order, problem is political.
"Biggest problem is that in Russia there are very independent authoritative agencies who do not communicate with each other, now one of these, similar to our EVIRA has caused this"Certain states and individual customers can stipulate that all process water is treated before entering the production facility. The reasoning behind this is that the standards of municipal water supplies can and have falenl down.

[cordel]

One new ban example has been reveiled, this from Snellman. They dont have own water refinery, they use water from municipality network. If you know anything about Finnish tap water, ban reason is of course absurd, but naturally in Russia, like most places in the World, it makes perfect sense to have own water cleaning.

So that plant indeed does not meet the Russian regulations? Do you think an EU inspectors would act differently? "Hell, everybody knows Finnish water is good, f**k that stupid regulation" - do you really want to say Finnish or EU inspectors work this way? And if not, what do you expect from Russian ones?

If you want to sell your goods in Russia, comply with Russian regulations. Not with Finnish, EU, or Zimbabwe ones. Isn't it simple?

[smile]

Food safety standards are by and large pretty much the same around most of the world its the issue of enforcement of and adherence to standards which varies greatly. I for one do not regard the Russians as inferior but I do believe they have developed a culture of "who gives a f*ck" when it comes to the enforcement of the very stringent Russian food safety guidelines, with underfunded and undermanned enforcement agencies its not surprising standards are slipping and the same is happening certain EU states.
Nope and never in this life. Compare the food in german Aldi suparmarket with the food at czech inn. Ask where they get the products from, from near farmers and so on...
I do not believe that this people know anything about ISO 9000 or other crap, where fresh processed milk or jam can stand open some days. And it tastes like indefinable substance from mars such as marzipan compared with original. But if you never be on usual farm, which compare do you have? Milk from company A against company B, where both are subsidiaries.

This is just my opinion, the processed milk from tetrapack is not the same as the original.

[Jippo]

So that plant indeed does not meet the Russian regulations? Do you think an EU inspectors would act differently? "Hell, everybody knows Finnish water is good, f**k that stupid regulation" - do you really want to say Finnish or EU inspectors work this way?

I would think the quality of the materials is more important.

Russia is full of bureacracy, and that makes many times things only worse, not better. I can very well see it happening: Russian inspector sees that the water is coming from the communal water main: "oh no, we can not have that! Must have water purification plant xxyy like listed in rule 243345375/B to comply with regulations." It makes absolutely no difference if the water is actually good or not. Meeting regulations becomes more important than meeting the goal that the regulations are used to meet.

I have seen this in my job many times. There is always a rule, there is always a bureacrat...

Ps.
http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Study+finds+tap+water+purer+than+bottled+water/1135234086399

[cordel]

Russia is full of bureacracy, and that makes many times things only worse, not better. I can very well see it happening: Russian inspector sees that the water is coming from the communal water main: "oh no, we can not have that! Must have water purification plant xxyy like listed in rule 243345375/B to comply with regulations." It makes absolutely no difference if the water is actually good or not. Meeting regulations becomes more important than meeting the goal that the regulations are used to meet.

If the plant release a batch of low quality products (accidents happens no matter how good QC is), and if investigation discover that the inspector falsely stated that the plant complied to the regulations even if it didn't, then the inspector is in deep sh1t, no matter if the quality problem linked to water or not. Why would a Russian inspector do such thing? Because HELSINGIN SANOMAT wrote how good Finnish water is? Are you serious?

An inspector don't give a damn about quality of Finnish water, it is not his job to decide whether it is good or bad. His job is to make sure that the enterprise being inspected fully complies with regulations. You may find it surprising, but any Finnish inspector does things exactly the same way (I bet in case of Finnish inspector you would be a lot more understandable).

Sure thing the factory owner whines about political reasons (a dissident, my ass rofl). But the fact is he has cut expenses when building the plant and does not like the idea of paying now.

[Jippo]

Nobody said tap water doesn't meet the quality.

Nobody said the quality is lacking.

Nobody said there is a problem with quality control.

Some factories have not met Russian requirements so imports of theirs and also others has been stopped.

Russians can make a requirement that all workers must sing operas in Russian if they wish to do so, and then stop Finnish products because the workers can not sing. (where there is a will there is a way)

All these are facts.

I personally switched jobs so I wouldn't need to deal with Russian bureaucrats anymore. I did for years and had to bear the endless (and often mindless) rules that would change every next week if the bureaucrat wouldn't be bribed. I started to deal with locals only, it is far easier because rules don't change and they are the same for everyone here. Trust me, I've been there, done that.

[CaptMorgan68]

corruption is a problem that's true and given how easy it is to side step some inspections by bribing officials there are certainly issues with quality in some places in Russia imho...

[Hyde]

I do not believe that this people know anything about ISO 9000 or other crap, where fresh processed milk or jam can stand open some days. And it tastes like indefinable substance from mars such as marzipan compared with original. But if you never be on usual farm, which compare do you have? Milk from company A against company B, where both are subsidiaries.

This is just my opinion, the processed milk from tetrapack is not the same as the original.

x2

The Milk that can be bought in Supermarkets in the West (even the one labeled as "Fresh Milk") and a whole lot of other nature products don't taste anything like they do in reality. Milk, Tomatos even the Eggs from the concentrate-fed chicken taste like nothing or completely different, and that applies to dozens of products. Just that the people don't know this because no one of them has ever been to a real farm (real farm =/= cows held in cages in a warehouse and milk sucked out of them with automatic pumps).

[Breerman]

Certain states and individual customers can stipulate that all process water is treated before entering the production facility. The reasoning behind this is that the standards of municipal water supplies can and have falenl down.
All dairy producers here have their own laboratories that do constant tests on the milk that is produced. I reckon it's the same in Finland. Russian rules are probably because they many times lack sewer plants, meaning thet just flush their remains out in the nature. presumably not very good chemical disposal systems either.


The Milk that can be bought in Supermarkets in the West (even the one labeled as "Fresh Milk") and a whole lot of other nature products don't taste anything like they do in reality. Milk, Tomatos even the Eggs from the concentrate-fed chicken taste like nothing or completely different, and that applies to dozens of products. Just that the people don't know this because no one of them has ever been to a real farm (real farm =/= cows held in cages in a warehouse and milk sucked out of them with automatic pumps).
You're partially right. I see a lot of different milk types in the stores and to me they have different flavors. I have tried fresh cow milk on a farm but it's a long time ago. In my own experience home grown apples taste about the same, with eggs I like to think I notice a difference but don't know if I would be able to tell in a blind sampling. The bacon in the stores is crappy though, don't know why. I try to get straight from a local producer when I pass by and it's available.

[Flamming_Python]

You have to have it if you want to sell the product in a shop or export it.

This is absurd, are you guys really here to tell us that the average quality of Eastern European agricultural produce is noticeably higher than that of Russia's?

[Flamming_Python]

It is actually quite hilarious to watch some of these arguments: "Russian food products are at least as good as Finnish products, often even better, so it is good that we impose a ban on importing Finnish foods!". In normal world if imported products are inferior to domestic ones in everything, people stop buying them and it wont be sufficient to continue importing them. In Russia however people seem to be too stupid to understand what they like and so it is the duty of the state to help them to decide correctly by banning the puny alternatives who are defining the laws of supply and demand. Russians should just admit that either their majority can not perform simple rational decisions or that they do not want to play free trade and that they will keep imposing arbitrary trade barriers, even though Adam Smith showed already at 1776 that it is not beneficial way in the long run. Either way, it is not looking that good for anyone at the moment.

I think that the Russian government will sooner decide that their population can't make simple rational decisions, before anything else :)

But in this case, as suspect, its turning out that this has nothing to do with either politics or protectionism.

[PEMM]

Sure thing the factory owner whines about political reasons (a dissident, my ass rofl). But the fact is he has cut expenses when building the plant and does not like the idea of paying now.

Are you actually serious with your post?

[cordel]

Are you actually serious with your post?

You mean about "political reasons"? Absolutely. What political reason you see there? Relations with Finland are stable for many years, and I don't remember any noticeable political disagreements. There are no economic reasons either. Russia imports a lot of milk products (mostly dried milk), and Finnish products take a very small share of the market. No need for protecting local industry in this case.

It is quite natural the the plant manager is unhappy about Russian regulations, but calling the case 'political' is overstretching.

[jokuvaan]

CEO didnt mean that this is political retribution, he was saying that ministers should meet and solve it(part I didnt translate), he called it political problem as there is no technical problem with the food quality. Personally I'm quite sure that is soon done and over.

[JRT]

You have to have it if you want to sell the product in a shop or export it.

Maybe it's just me, but I highly doubt that in reality this is the case everywhere in the EU. It is the rule, yes, and if you want to export, yes, but in a random village in the eastern parts of EU where a farm has sold it's meat for a long time in a nearby shop in the same village, who cares whether a cow has a fvcking id number or not. The grandma buying the meat? The shopkeeper? Right.

[IronFinn]

probably none but ppl don't need too much proof to really see what's what... I dunno why but the Finns are just seething with hate for anything that has to do with the Russians... and don't tel me it's about a mil conflict that took place more than half a century ago

If you are referring to the deportation of the granmother (who was a illegal immigrant btw) or the custody issues with of the couple finnish/russian born children then I would also point out that these issues are still a extremely minor happenings which in reality do not give you any indication of the relations between finns and russians (or the 50 000 russians living in Finland). Media hype blows issues out of porpotion and russian media seems to be extremely sensitive when ever such things happens, but you need to remember that most tabloids do not give you a balanced view.

[Mr Gently Benevolent]

Russian rules are probably because they many times lack sewer plants, meaning thet just flush their remains out in the nature. presumably not very good chemical disposal systems either.Although the Russians accept Codex Alimentarius they like Japan have yet to formalize HACCP like the EU this has lead to some misunderstandings and is further complicated by Russian food standards codified in the early Soviet era. The Soviets were very concerned about the continuity and safety of the food chain thus the instance on the further purification of process water rather than the notion that municipal water was already unfit.