Russia bans cheese imports from 3 Ukrainian factories

Russia had banned cheese imports from three Ukrainian factories after samples failed to meet dairy product standards, a Russian official said Wednesday.Chief sanitary inspector Gennady Onishchenko told Interfax news agency the products tested contained a large amount of vegetable fats but didn't inform consumers and the factories had taken an "unconstructive position in addressing the problems of their products."The three factories were Prometei in Ukrainian's Chernihiv region, and the Pyratynsky Cheese Plant and Gadyachsyr, both in Poltava region, Onishchenko said.The ban was in line with Russian laws on food product quality and safety and Russia's food safety and sanitary watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor had informed Federal Customs of the ban, he said."We are totally removing these products from circulation," Onishchenko said, without specifying how long the ban would last.Ukrainian-made cheese has an 8.5-percent share of Russia's cheese market.