Gennady Onishchenko, head of Russia's State Sanitary Service, has proposed a ban on the import of wines from Georgia and Moldova, citing health concerns.
"I request that legal measures be taken to stop imports of wine and wine-making products from Moldova and Georgia and manufactured on the territory of these republics," Onishchenko said in a letter addressed to the head of the Federal Customs Service, according to the RIA Novosti news service.
There is nothing inherently wrong with wines from the two former Soviet Union republics. The problem lies in a growing market for low-quality, unregulated bootlegged wines being sold as high-end Georgian and Moldovan products.
Citing numerous violations of health regulations, Onishchenko suspended health and hygiene permits for wine imports from the two countries effective Monday. The ban will stay in effect, he said, until the violations are eliminated.
Hygiene authorities in Moscow have already suspended wine import permits because 60% of the wine imported from the two countries allegedly fails to meet health safety regulations and is stored without documents indicating that pesticides were used during the wine-making process.
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