Store Dairy Products with Artificial Additives to be Separated from Natural Dairy Products Shelves

The Permanent Commission on Economic Affairs of the National Assembly of Armenia approved a draft law proposed by the government, which suggests that dairy products containing milk fat substitutes should be placed on separate shelves in stores.

The package of amendments to the Law of the Republic of Armenia on Trade and Services was presented at the NA commission meeting by the Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan, who suggested certain changes to the originally presented draft.

The ministry proposes to implement specific regulations for the sale of dairy products in stores. Commission member Babken Tunyan clarified: “In particular, since there are dairy products made from natural, pure milk, and there are dairy products made with vegetable oil or other additives, consumers often get confused. It is proposed that in stores these products be organized on separate shelves, so it is immediately visible which products contain artificial additives and vegetable oils and which ones are completely pure and natural.”

Initially, the proposed regulation was to apply to all stores, but it was later taken into account that this was not feasible for small shops. Thus, it was suggested to limit the regulation to stores with an area exceeding 200 square meters.

In trading facilities, dairy products with milk fat substitutes must be provided with a separate consumer shelf and marked with a specific type of label stating “Contains milk fat substitute” in a readable format and displayed in a visible place.

The draft was approved by the commission with these amendments.