According to statistics, out of the total number of children born in 2021 in Russia (1.4 million), 25% of children aged 0-12 months. are artificially fed, another 20% are mixed.
In this regard, there is a need to implement the following proposals for the provision of baby food:
For conditionally healthy young children
1. In the absence of breast milk from a mother to a child of the first year of life, ensuring the availability of breast milk substitutes – adapted mixtures.
2. For children from 4-6 months. ensuring the availability of complementary foods (children’s dairy products, meat and fish purees, children’s dairy-free and milk porridges)
For children with special needs – provision of specialized food products for medical reasons.
For children with orphan diseases, providing nutritional support in conjunction with therapy.
To implement these proposals, it is advisable to revise the procedure for confirming the conformity of finished products and ingredients for its production, by reducing the state registration period to 2 months. (Now – from 2 to 9 months), namely:
– Exclude examination, laboratory, and clinical studies in relation to products previously registered/declared on the territory of the EAEU when changing the manufacturer/country of production. Admission to the market of formulas conforming to Codex Alimentarius standards.
– Exclude the conduct of laboratory and clinical studies in relation to products that are in circulation in the EU and have confirmation of the declared properties.
– Simplify the procedure for entering samples to confirm compliance in terms of eliminating the obligation to provide a document from the testing laboratory.
– In order to replace imported products as soon as possible, it makes sense to apply a simplified procedure for state registration of specialized food products with the mandatory involvement of specialized specialists (medical community and business representatives)
Currently, at the EAEU level, amendments to ТР ТС 027 «Об отдельных видах специализированной пищевой продукции», ТР ТС 021 «О безопасности пищевой продукции», aimed at harmonization with Codex Alimentarius standards, which were agreed by the Russian Federation, have already been developed and publicly discussed.