On April 15, deputy chairman of the Ukrainian Agri Council Denis Marchuk took part in the meeting on prevention of falsification of dairy products held at the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine.

During the meeting, the participants discussed the quality of dairy products and the problem of counterfeiting, as well as mechanisms for the prevention, detection and prosecution of market operators who produce counterfeit products.

"Yes, indeed, the problem of counterfeiting in the milk market exists today, and we have talked about this repeatedly. Yesterday, representatives of the European Business Association and NGO "Public Control" presented the results of research on the quality of dairy products in the Kyiv region, - says deputy chairman of the UAC Denis Marchuk. — 28% of 91 samples of dairy products were falsified. 42% of samples of butter, 16% - cottage cheese and 12% of sour cream samples contained non-dairy fats. In addition, 32% of samples of cottage cheese did not meet the requirements of normative documents according to the physical and chemical parameter "mass fraction of protein". In total, more than 90 samples of dairy products were investigated. The results are shocking. Taking into account the fact that in Ukraine during the last 5 years the quality and quantity of milk raw materials from industrial farms has been steadily increasing."

The Association of Milk Producers (AMP) emphasizes that by the end of 2018, in the general structure of milk for processing, the raw materials of extra and higher grade amounted to almost 60%. And 150 farms-members of AMP provide 50% of all extra-quality.

"Dishonest producers of dairy products that produce fake not only undermine the authority of the entire industry, but also eliminate the dairy farms that are constantly investing in their development, thereby endangering the future of the dairy industry in Ukraine," emphasizes the Vice President of AMP Anna Lavrenyuk.

At the end of the meeting, a plan of measures aimed at preventing the production and putting into circulation of counterfeit dairy products was discussed.

Acting Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Olga Trofimtseva urged those present to submit their proposals to combat the falsification in 2019.

The meeting was attended by experts from the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, the State Committee for Consumer Protection, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine, the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine, the National Police of Ukraine, expert associations of specialized associations and NGOs.