Morgunova: the Belarusian confectionery industry needs to be more actively involved in standardization work

May 23, MINSK . The Belarusian confectionery industry needs to be more actively involved in standardization work. This was stated by the First Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Standardization of Belarus Elena Morgunova during the Day of Quality of Confectionery Products, BelTA has learned.

As Elena Morgunova noted, there are all possibilities for this now. On the basis of the SPC of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus for Food, there is a technical committee for standardization "Food Raw Materials and Products of Its Processing". One of its subcommittees deals with the standardization of the confectionery industry. "We are trying with all our might to involve in the development of standards, in addition to the public sector, also private business . We hold round tables, seminars with business structures to actively involve them in the development of standards," she said.

She also drew attention to the fact that the committee updated the directions for the development of national standardization in the face of sanctions restrictions. So, if an enterprise urgently needs updated standards for deliveries, then Gosstandart is ready to help develop the necessary document, taking into account the requirements of the country of EXPORT, in advance, within a few months. Also, standardization in advanced mode is provided for the purposes of import substitution. "If some raw materials are missing, the standards can be reviewed, the components can be replaced with alternative ones, and the development of a new standard for the current situation can be considered," Elena Morgunova added.

She also stressed that interstate standards are today the most effective tool for removing technical barriers in the development of cooperative ties in the Union State, the EAEU , the CIS. "Therefore, the standards must be updated very quickly. Outdated ones will be an obstacle to the admission of products to the market. it is important to develop and apply modern up-to-date standards both for product safety and for maintaining and developing the quality level," the First Deputy Chairman of the State Standard emphasized.

According to the press service of the State Standard, there are currently 62 state standards (STB) and 188 interstate standards (GOST) for the confectionery industry in Belarus. They relate to bakery products, animal and vegetable fats and oils, processed fruits and vegetables, margarine, wheat FLOUR and other products. This year, 16 new GOSTs have been introduced or will be introduced. Changes are being developed to state standards for bread made from wheat flour, chocolate, terms and definitions in the bakery industry. There will also be a new terminological standard for confectionery and semi-finished confectionery products. The EAEU has developed and is at various stages of draft amendments to the technical regulations for labeling food products.

During the Day of Quality, in the format of a round table, problematic issues of technical regulation and state standardization in the confectionery industry were considered. In addition, the program of the event included the work of the Central Tasting Commission, the main purpose of which is to assess the organoleptic characteristics of domestic and imported confectionery products sold in Belarusian retail chains: waffles, oatmeal and butter cookies, confectionery products based on toffee, MILK, milk-containing and soft caramel masses.

Photo by Nadezhda Andreichik