Russia Restricting Sale of Some Western Cleaning Products
August 25 2015 - 2:00PM
Dow Jones News
MOSCOW—Russia has restricted the sale of certain U.S. and
European-brand laundry detergents, soaps and cleaning products,
citing alleged toxicity violations, opening what may be the newest
front in Moscow's battle against Western products in response to
sanctions.
Russian state consumer regulator Rospotrebnadzor said its tests
had found violations in an array of home-care products manufactured
by U.S., European and Ukrainian-owned companies. The regulator said
the goods failed to meet safety standards.
"Those products that do not meet the requirements are being
removed from sale," the consumer regulator said in a statement
Tuesday. "Investigations into the household products and detergents
of other manufacturers are continuing."
The consumer regulator said products made by the Western
consumer-goods makers Procter & Gamble Co., Colgate-Palmolive
Co., Clorox Co., Henkel AG and Werner & Mertz GmbH didn't meet
standards.
It also said it found violations in products made by two Russian
firms with foreign links: OAO Nevskaya Kosmetika, a Russian firm
that makes soaps, toothpastes, creams and detergents, and which is
owned by a Ukrainian parent company, and ZAO ESP-Kontrakt GmbH,
which makes and sells the cleaning product brands of Germany's
Oricont GmbH on the Russian market.
Rospotrebnadzor has notified a number of Russia's biggest
retailers of the alleged violations. Some of the retailers have
responded by removing the specified products from their shelves.
Other retailers are waiting for more clarity. The Russian consumer
regulator doesn't appear to have informed the consumer-goods
companies directly of the alleged violations.
A spokeswoman for the regulator didn't respond to a request for
comment.
Last year, Russia banned an array of U.S. and European food
products in response to Western sanctions over the crisis in
Ukraine. The same month, Rospotrebnadzor began suspending
operations at McDonald's Corp. restaurants across the country,
citing alleged sanitary violations. At the time, the regulator's
top official denied accusations that the inspections and temporary
closures were politically motivated. The restaurants have since
reopened.
So far, the regulator's announcement Tuesday appears to affect
only a small number of products sold in the Russian market by the
consumer-goods firms.
The consumer regulator didn't publish a list of specific
products affected. According to the Russian newspaper Kommersant,
the list of products includes P&G's Fairy Platinum dishwashing
detergent, Werner & Mertz's Emsal floor cleaner and Clorox's
Formula 409 cleaner. It also includes Palmolive Naturals olive and
moisturizing milk soap, made by Colgate-Palmolive, the newspaper
said.
The German consumer-goods giant Henkel, for instance, said
Russian authorities curtailed the sale three of its products:
Vernel Spring Freshness fabric softener, Persil Expert Sensitive
laundry detergent and Pemos for Kids laundry detergent. The Russian
regulator asked the German company's trade partners to remove the
products from Russian shelves in late July.
Henkel said it is "seeking dialogue with the relevant
authorities to understand the background of their measures." In a
statement, the company noted that all of its products have received
Russian state registration certificates. Russia is Henkel's fourth
biggest market by sales.
Russia is a big market for Western consumer-goods firms, many of
which manufacture their products locally. The Russian home-care
products sector was worth 188.5 billion rubles ($2.7 billion) in
2014, according to Euromonitor International.
Cincinnati-based P&G dominates the Russian consumer-goods
sector in many categories. According to Euromonitor, the U.S. firm
is the market leader in Russia for home-care products, including
dishwashing soap, fabric softener and laundry detergents.
"We are committed to ensuring that our products are safe to use
and meet or exceed regulations where they are marketed," a
spokeswoman for P&G said in a statement. "We believe our
products are in compliance with the regulations in Russia and are
seeking to work with Rospotrebnadzor to resolve this matter as
quickly as possible. "
Representatives for Colgate-Palmolive, Clorox and Werner &
Mertz didn't respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for
Nevskaya Kosmetika couldn't be reached.
Konstantin Frolov, head of the legal department at ESP-Kontrakt,
said representatives from the Russian consumer regulator had
conducted toxicity checks at the company's facilities earlier this
month but had not sent word of any violations. He said ESP-Kontrakt
had not received any demand from the regulator to stop selling its
products.
ESP-Kontrakt manufactures and sells cleaning products under the
German company Oricont's brand Luxus Professional in the Russian
market. An Oricont spokesman said the products affected are
produced in Russia and have nothing to do with the company's German
business.
Write to Paul Sonne at paul.sonne@wsj.com and Ellen Emmerentze
Jervell at ellen.jervell@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 25, 2015 13:45 ET (17:45 GMT)
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