Belarus Bans The Sale of Fish, Tinned Food, Juices, Baby Food of Some Brands

What was the reason?

The list of products that are banned from selling in Belarusian stores, as well as importing in the country, regularly adds new items. A couple of weeks ago, it added instant coffee drinks 3-in-1 of brands Jacobs and Zhockey. A little later, the list added crackers Tuc with flavours such as "smoked sausage" and "cheese". Tut.by checked up the new products on the list, as well as the reasons for that.

Late April, the watermelon-flavoured chewing marmalade of the HARIBO brand appeared on the list of dangerous products. The reason was the sweetener, sorbitol. It is listed as well as sugar. However, the packaging does not say that these products have reduced energy value.

Interestingly, despite the ban, the marmalade is sold in grocery stores in the capital.

In early March, the State Standard banned the souffle-marshmallow of the same brand. The production of this product involved the glucose syrup, granulated sugar and food additive sweetener - sorbitol syrup, as stated by the manufacturer in the labelling. It turns out that the latter cannot be used to manufacture products with added sugars.

In April, the State Standard inspected fish products as well. There were items banned. One of such items was air-dried fillet of blue whiting with peppers by Amber Fish. The producer added food additives - preservatives, as written on the package. However, sodium benzoate E211 and potassium sorbate E202 cannot be used in the production of such products.

There are canned meats on the list. A week ago, "Pilaf with Beef" was on it. The State Standard considered that the name of the product misinformed the consumer about the contents of the tin, "it misinforms the consumer about the food product and does not allow identifying the product by name". According to the results of the tests, the package had the wrong ingredients. The beef pilaf had pork and chicken DNA, although the product does not say it.

The list also includes foods for babies. We found there "Fruit pieces" of apples of the Fruto Nyanya brand. The tests revealed sulfur dioxide in the amount of 89.5 mg/kg, while the maximum acceptable level was 50 mg/kg. That is, the concentration is 1.79 times higher. It can cause allergic reactions. In addition, products with such additives should not be used in case of certain diseases. However, the manufacturer failed to mention them among the ingredients.

Fans of spices of the Master Duck brand should be careful with coriander and some other products of the brand. It was also banned from sale. Spices contain a higher level of mesophilic aerobic and facultative anaerobic microorganisms, as well as E. coli bacteria. The actual value of the first is exceeded by 11.2 times. The latter should not be in the product.

LOTTE CHOCOPAY cookies have disappeared from the shelves of many stores (not everywhere). It contains the sweetener sorbitol syrup (E420(ii)), which cannot be used with sugar.

MAMBA COLA & FRUITS chewables in the flavours pineapple cola, cherry cola, lemon cola and orange cola. The sugar and the food additive sorbitol syrup E420ii - a sweetener, as declared by the manufacturer - were used in the production of these products.

It should be recalled that since April 22, Gosstandart also banned the sale of "smoked sausage" and "cheese" flavour Tuc crackers, which are well-known in Belarus. They contain an unacceptable food additive. The preservative sodium pyrosulfite, or E223, was added to the product. The ingredient is stated on the packaging.

In some stores, this product is still being sold.

Cocoa drinks Classic Flavor of MacChocolate was among the dangerous products. The State Standard found the additive E950 or Acesulfame Potassium sweetener. It was considered unacceptable.

A week earlier, the same additive was found in two kinds of instant coffee drink 3 in 1 brand Jacobs - Classic and Soft and three kinds of the same drink of Zhockey - Caramel, Strong and Soft. They fell under the ban not because they have E950, but because the additive appears together with sugar. The package does not contain any information about the reduced caloric value of the product.