‘The import of the so-called grey (i.e. illegally made) meat to Russia amounted to 200,000 tons in January-March 2007. This cheap, low-quality frozen meat that had no vitamins or anything left in it was transferred to the country through Kazakhstan, Byelorussia, and Kaliningrad,’ the spokesperson for Sverdlovsk Region Ministry of Agriculture and Food Anatoly Feoktistov said to UrBC.

‘Rosselkhoznadzor’s ban on meat import from Kazakhstan due to an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease is definitely a good thing. The region’s dwellers won’t risk buying and eating low-quality food; I’m positive there isn’t going to be any meat shortage either as we’ve got almost 30,000 pigs raised in proper conditions whose meat will be quite good to eat,’ Mr. Feoktsitov said.