OREANDA-NEWS. Russia may suspend imports of meat products from Belarusian suppliers, which procure meat from Moldova, chief of Russia's veterinary oversight authority Rosselkhoznadzor Sergey Dankvert told.

Rosselkhoznadzor plans to intensify control over imports of Belarusian meat products after two instances of the ASF genome found in lab tests of ready-made meat products by two Belarusian meat-packing factories.

In the meantime, Russia will impose a temporary ban on meat supplies from Moldova from October 27, Rosselkhoznadzor announced Wednesday.

Dankvert informed that an inspection conducted together with Belarusian counterparts had revealed cases of supplying through Moldova unsafe meat products, including those purchased by wholesalers at common village markets.

Deliveries were destined mainly for Belarus, which had "a more flexible control regime," Dankvert said.

The inspection found Moldovan meat products to be dangerous according to veterinary and sanitary criteria alongside inaccurate veterinary certification of meat products, he said.

Some Moldovan enterprises showed inconsistency between their production capabilities and the volumes of meat supplied to Russia, he added.