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)

Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Clorox (NYSE:CLX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Mar 2024 Click Here for more Clorox Charts.
Clorox (NYSE:CLX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2023 to Mar 2024 Click Here for more Clorox Charts.