Experts from Russian consumer rights watchdog Rospotrebnadzor will travel to Georgia to inspect companies that are planning to resume supplies of famed Borzhomi mineral water to Russia.
“The preparation of the visit of Russian experts to Georgia to inspect suppliers of Borzhomi mineral water to Russia is underway,” Rospotrebnadzor said in a statement on Monday.
Russia banned imports of Georgian wines and two popular brands of mineral water in 2006 citing the poor quality of the products, a move widely condemned in Georgia as politically motivated.
Georgian winemakers and producers of Borzhomi mineral water have made numerous attempts to return to the Russian market since then, but have not received political support from Georgian authorities.
Russia says it needs to inspect technological processes during the production cycle and study samples of products before deciding whether to resume the imports from Georgia.
According to Rospotrebnadzor, Georgian IDC Borzhomi has recently submitted all necessary documentation on the quality and authenticity of its mineral water and proposed its own plan aimed at fighting counterfeit production of its brand.