The Ministry of Industry and Trade proposes to introduce digital labeling of fish products in Russia

The Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation has proposed the introduction of digital labeling to identify fish products on the market.

Digital product labeling system in Russia

The Russian national system for digital marking and tracking of goods is innovative. It has been created and works successfully for many product groups. Currently, 15 groups of goods are labeled on a compulsory or pilot basis - from water and cigarettes to furs and bicycles. Experts report that more than 6 billion codes are tracked. Nevertheless, the system is still ready to scale up the project.

Pilot program on the example of sturgeon fish

The institution is considering testing the digital labeling of this product category on the example of sturgeon fish. Products derived from them, including caviar, would also be tested. This action would be a pilot project. It was reported that in the future it is possible to extend this project also to other types of fish products.

Lots of counterfeit products in the fish market

The necessity to introduce mandatory digital labeling of fish and fish products is the result of the large share of counterfeit products in the market. Experts emphasize that, according to the research carried out, from 18 to 26% of a given species of fish bears the features of counterfeit products. In addition, control and surveillance authorities record infringements as to the actual quantity of fish products in the enterprises and the number of veterinary certificates they issue for the products.