Finishing: sanitary standards for ready-made food will be established in Russia
Russia plans to establish mandatory sanitary standards for ready-made food sold online and in stores. Currently, only voluntary recommendations from Rospotrebnadzor apply to such products, as well as SanPiNs for catering, which do not take into account all the features of ready meals. The new requirements may require manufacturers and suppliers to implement HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) procedures, including laboratory tests, and to use a gas—modified environment for packaging. The issue is being studied by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. According to Rospotrebnadzor, according to the results of inspections in 2025, more than half of the samples of prepared food did not meet the established requirements.
What requirements for ready meals can be tightened?
In Russia, they want to strengthen control over the quality of prepared food — the authorities are exploring the possibility of updating sanitary rules and regulations. We may be talking about the introduction of mandatory requirements into existing SanPiNs that take into account the specifics of products of the "ready-to-eat" category. In particular, the obligation of manufacturers to develop and implement procedures based on the principles of HACCP, including laboratory tests and tests, in accordance with the technical regulations of the Customs Union, is discussed. Requirements for the use of a gas-modified environment in packaging may also be established, as well as separate sanitary and hygienic standards for kitchen factories and personnel of such enterprises.
These proposals of business representatives were considered during a meeting of the State commission for combating illicit trafficking in industrial products in December, according to the materials of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, which were reviewed by Izvestia. Izvestia sent inquiries to the Ministry, Rospotrebnadzor, as well as manufacturers and suppliers of ready-made food.
The issue of regulating the market of ready-made food sold in retail chains and through delivery was considered by the state commission on the initiative of Rospotrebnadzor, the supervisory service clarified to Izvestia.
— Rospotrebnadzor draws attention to the growth of the market for industrially produced and delivered ready-made food and the need to introduce special rules for its production and transportation. Today, there is no single definition of this product category in the regulatory framework and consideration of its technological features, which creates a legal gap and increases risks for consumers.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade conceptually supports the initiative on the need to regulate the market of ready-made food, the ministry told Izvestia. The main goal of the joint work of the departments is to minimize risks for consumers, they added. Rospotrebnadzor also said that in 2025, 900 samples of finished products were selected in retail chains across the country. According to the results of laboratory tests, 64% of the samples did not meet the sanitary and epidemiological requirements for microbiological indicators, and pathogenic microflora was found in 19 samples.
"These data indicate the threat of low—quality and potentially dangerous products in the absence of special requirements for the ready—to-eat segment," the department stressed.
In 2025, the methodological recommendations of Rospotrebnadzor for the production and sale of ready-made food were approved. For the first time, they fixed the very subject of regulation — ready-made food, defining it as industrially produced packaged products, and also established requirements for the processes of production, packaging and labeling. At the same time, the recommendations are voluntary: in fact, there is currently no separate mandatory sanitary regulation for ready-made food.
"There is sanitary legislation for public catering enterprises, but it was developed for a different business model and does not take into account the specifics of industrial production, packaging, large—scale logistics and the sale of ready-made food through retail chains and online delivery services," Sergey Belyakov, president of the Association of Manufacturers and Suppliers of Ready—made Food (APPGE), told Izvestia.
In addition, sanitary standards for catering are initially designed for products with a shorter shelf life compared to ready-made food of industrial production, which also limits their direct application to this category, he added.
The ready-to-eat food market is growing rapidly
Russians are increasingly buying ready-made food, experts told Izvestia. According to their estimates, by 2028, this market in the HoReCa (hospitality and catering) and retail segments may grow 1.5 times compared to 2024 - up to 9 trillion rubles. In 2024, the market volume increased by 14.6% and reached 5.8 trillion, the INFOLine-Analytics agency estimated.
In January – June of last year (the latest available data), sales of these products at X5 (Pyaterochka, Perekrestok, Chizhik) increased by 38%, to 99.4 billion rubles, Magnit — by 31%, to 39.7 billion, at Lenta group — by 28%., up to 15.6 billion In the latter, sales of ready—made food in the chain's hypermarkets increased by more than 15%, and in supermarkets - by almost 1.6 times.
As the popularity of these products grows, Russians are also faced with the sale of substandard products. So, in the fall of 2025, 89 people in Ulan-Ude complained of symptoms of acute intestinal infection, 55 of them were hospitalized. The reason was gross violations of sanitary and epidemiological requirements by the Vostok finished products company.
In the summer of 2024, more than 120 people applied for medical help with symptoms of botulism in Moscow. Of these, over 50 victims were hospitalized in serious condition, and 30 were placed in intensive care. Salads from the ready-to-eat food delivery service "Kitchen in the area" became the source of poisoning. In total, more than 400 people were injured in 11 regions of the country.
— It is obvious that for the safety of citizens it is necessary to develop uniform rules for the control of products on the ready-to-eat market. It is also necessary to clearly separate ready—made packaged food, cooking that is prepared directly in hypermarkets and frozen ready—made food - these are all completely different categories in the manufacturing and transportation process, therefore, the approach to them should be differentiated," said Mikhail Lachugin, an independent consultant to retail chain suppliers, founder of the industry channel Product Media.
At the end of last year, Roskachestvo, together with a working group of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, presented the first version of the state standard for ready-made food in trade. GOST provides for mandatory automation of a part of production processes by at least 30% to ensure the identity of batches in taste, composition, appearance and weight.
In practice, large and conscientious market players often set standards based on their own quality and food safety systems, which are sometimes more stringent than those established by law: including expanded internal inspections, requirements for transport, temperature conditions, site audits, said Sergey Belyakov from the APPGE. However, the caveat is that such standards may vary from company to company and sometimes contradict each other in some aspects, he added.
At the same time, individual business representatives' own standards should not be presented as a competitive advantage for advertising and marketing purposes, Mikhail Lachugin believes. Otherwise, it can create a feeling among consumers that the authorities do not control the quality of the prepared food at all, the expert explained.
— In addition, there is already a tendency that standards can be written "turnkey" for any major manufacturer or retailer, and this will create unequal conditions for all other market participants. Small and medium-sized manufacturers that are just entering this promising market will face the need to either invest in upgrades that are too much for them, or leave the shelves. As a result, consumers will receive not diversity and security, but monopolistically high prices and a narrowing of the range," said Dmitry Tortev, a member of the expert council of the State Duma Committee for the Protection of Competition.
A mechanism has long been found in world practice to prevent such risks: international standards for food products are developed within the framework of Codex Alimentarius and ISO procedures, where a balance of interests of all parties is ensured. In Russia, this function should be performed by the authorities represented by specialized scientific institutes, including the Russian Academy of Sciences, and not by associations representing the interests of individual commercial structures, the expert believes.
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