New development opportunities for the Russian juice industry

On December 17, 2021, a cooperation agreement between the Russian Standards Institute, the Union of Juice, Water and Beverage Producers (Soyuznapitki) and the European Fruit Juice Association (AIJN) was officially signed. The ceremony was attended by representatives of the Federal Agency for Technical Regulation and Metrology (Rosstandart) and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation.

Cooperation agreement

The trilateral cooperation agreement opens up the possibility for the Russian juice industry to introduce proven international practices in the field of juice quality and production process control. After the agreement is signed, the Russian side will be able to use many international documents to develop a juice standardization procedure.

European partner for the Russian juice industry

The European Association of Fruit Juice Producers (AIJN) has been representing the interests of European associations of juice producers since 1962. As of today, this organization consists of 23 associations, including representatives of 19 European Union countries, Turkey, Serbia and Russia, as well as 19 companies involved in the production of juice products, raw materials for their production or suppliers of equipment, packaging or other elements necessary in production juice.

Standardized procedures for the production of juice

In the words of the head of the Federal Agency for Technical Regulation and Metrology, Anton Shalaev, "the improvement of state resources of standardization documents based on the application of international standards, standards of other countries, as well as the best possible use of scientific achievements and technological progress is one of the strategic tasks of the development of standardization in Russia”. The signing of the cooperation document is a guarantee that the industry will follow a uniform approach to the quality of juices in Russia and around the world. This action will also be helpful in developing exports and eliminating legal loopholes that enable unfair competition on the market.

“The signing of the tripartite agreement is another important step towards the development of the Russian juice industry. We expect that the strengthening of international cooperation and the exchange of experiences will contribute to the improvement of the image of juices among consumers and will open up new prospects for production growth” said Maksim Novikov, president of the Juice, Water and Beverage Producers Union.

Important document - the code of conduct

One of the first documents to be developed by the Russian side will be the AIJN Code of Practice. It is one of the key codes not only in Europe, but all over the world. It has been developed by the best international experts in the field of certification and has been continuously refined for over 20 years. AIJN Code consists of 27 guides that describe in detail the physicochemical parameters of 27 different types of juices. For each juice, they are given a range of natural levels of about 30 or more different substances. The code was adopted and is now used by national fruit juice associations in EU countries, national food inspectorates, fruit and vegetable processors and suppliers of raw materials to the juice industry around the world.