Finnish news outlet YLE reported last week that Arla Foods' hopes of selling its surplus Russian-labelled cheese had been dashed because it was produced in Denmark, rather than Finland.
Under Finnish law, food labels must produced in both Finnish and Swedish.
However, following the August 7 one-year Russian ban on the import of agricultural products including cheese from the European Union (EU), the US, Australia, Canada, and Norway, Evira temporarily amended legislation to allow the domestic sale of Russian-labelled products requiring cold storage that were made in Finland up to August 8.
This move allowed the likes of Valio, Finland's largest dairy processor, to market its 'Putin cheese' in the country.
Annika Nurttila, senior inspector, Evira, told DairyReporter.com, it was later asked if this could be extended to cover products manufactured outside Finland.
The agency decided, however, that dealing with food produced for the Russian market is the responsibility of the EU Member State it was manufactured.
“Evira’s decision covered only product producers in Finland as Finnish food safety authorities have the possibility to ensure with extra control visits that the products manufactured for export cover also the food legislation in force in Finland and in this specific case ensure that the stipulations in the decision were followed," said Nurttila.
Small amount of cheese
Reijo Kiskola, CEO, Arla Foods Finland, told YLE last week that the company would have liked to introduce its “so-called Putin cheese products" to the Finnish market "but it was not permitted.”
Approached by DairyReporter.com, Kiskola stated only that its request related to a small amount of cheese, and that discussions with Evira had been “unofficial.”
It’s unclear at the moment what will become of the Arla Foods cheese in question.
Faced with similar circumstances, Norwegian dairy TINE announced recently it had given away around seven tonnes of Snøfrisk cream cheese, initially destined for export to Russia, to employees and a food bank in the country’s capital, Oslo.
Job cuts
As a direct result of the Russian ban on Western food imports, Arla Foods was forced to cut 79 jobs across five cheese manufacturing plants in Denmark.
The production of cheese and butter produced for the Russian market was brought to a halt on 11 August and milk was redistributed to the company's other Danish processing facilities.
"It is in every way an annoying situation for Arla, for our members and for the colleagues who are now being directly affected by the Russian import ban. Production has been growing rapidly in recent years so it can definitely be felt when a country such as Russia suddenly shuts down completely," Lars Dalsgaard, senior vice president, Arla, said at the time.