Legal aspects of classification of agricultural raw materials and products by environmental levels in the field of organic products circulation

Vorontsova Oksana Viktorovna PhD in Law Associate Professor, Associate Professor of the Department of Customs and Commodity Expertise, Deputy Director for Science of the International Institute of Management and Business; Rosbiotech 11 Volokolamsk Highway, Moscow, 125080, Russia mart.73@list.ru Korshik Tatyana Sergeevna PhD in Technical Science Associate Professor of the Department of Customs and Commodity Expertise ; Rosbiotech Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution 11 Volokolamsk Highway, Moscow, 125080, Russia Korshikts@mgupp.ru

Mastihina Anastasiya Leonidovna PhD in Technical Science Associate Professor of the Department of Customs and Commodity Expertise ; Rosbiotech Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution 11 Volokolamsk Highway, Moscow, 125080, Russia mastihinaal@mgupp.ru

An important step towards the development of sustainable agriculture, ensuring food safety and meeting the growing demand for organic products is the development of a regulatory framework for organic production in Russia.

An analysis of the current state and possible scenarios for the development of agricultural production confirms the need for a set of measures to stabilize and restore agricultural land, ensuring increased soil fertility on agricultural land, as well as improving the overall environmental situation. Further degradation and disposal of agricultural land from circulation can lead to complete stagnation of agricultural production ^[1].

Russia is actively working on the development of its organic sector. Federal Law No. 280-FZ of 08/03/2018 "On Organic Products and on Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation" regulates relations related to the production, storage, transportation, labeling and sale of organic products and plays a key role in ensuring the quality and safety of these products. The Law regulates relations related to the production, storage, transportation, labeling and sale of organic products, and plays a key role in ensuring the quality and safety of these products. The law provides for the creation of a Unified State Register of Organic Producers (Order No. 633 of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation dated 19.11.2019 "On approval of the procedure for maintaining the unified state register of organic producers, including the procedure for certification bodies to provide information provided for in Part 3 of Article 6 of the Federal Law "On Organic Products and on Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation", as well as the procedure for providing information on the presence or absence of information on organic producers in the unified State Register of organic producers"), which will serve as a tool for informing consumers free of charge about producers and types of organic products they produce. The registry helps to increase market transparency, allowing consumers to easily find and trust organic producers.

In general, the problem of the environmental friendliness of food products arose long before the enactment of this law. Public attention to environmental issues and sustainable development has been observed for many years, manifesting itself in various initiatives to improve environmental practices in all sectors of the economy, such as those related to greenhouse gas emissions, waste management and recycling, adaptation to climate change, renewable energy and Conservation of biodiversity and its gentle use. The flagships in these areas are the companies of the oil refining industry, however, some techniques can be adapted for use in the food industry. Various approaches to solving these problems, including organic farming ^[2], designing technologies for organic crop production ^[3], tools for sustainable planning and management of land and water resources ^[4] reducing carbon dioxide emissions in livestock by changing the diet of productive animals ^[5], creating a digital ecosystem to promote sustainable economic development ^[6], entail continuous updating and digitalization of environmental legislation, limited by the need for innovative investment in the food industry.

While legislation sets the framework and requirements for producers, the consumer may, within the framework of social and environmental control, give preference to certain food products, thereby forcing producers to produce environmentally friendly products using all norms and rules. We need clear rules for the organization of consumption and production processes for consumers, retailers, manufacturers and other interested bodies, including the Federal Customs Service, the Federal Tax Service, Rospotrebnadzor, Rostechnadzor, to ensure the efficiency and sustainability of the entire chain.

Consumer confidence in organic food is primarily based on faith in the authenticity of the products and their functional benefits, which in turn are confirmed by the labeling or certification assigned to products created to maintain environmental sustainability, protect biodiversity and ensure animal welfare.

Consumers believe that the health benefits of organic food are higher relative to mass-produced products, due to their naturalness, absence of harmful substances, pesticides and other components that can negatively affect health, but the main goal of choosing organic products should be to support more sustainable and ethical farming practices, which can improve overall quality. life in the communities where these products are produced.

Trust in organic products should begin with trust in the organization responsible for the production of goods and in sellers of organic food products, formed by awareness, responsible consumption and the desire to support local producers.

Access to complete and reliable information about products, in addition to the one specified in TR CU 022/2011 "Food products in terms of their labeling", should be expanded in relation to products receiving organic product certification. First of all, consumers should be able to familiarize themselves with the full list of components, even if their mass fraction does not exceed 2 percent of the ingredients in the product, their potential impact on health and their quantity in 100 grams of the product. According to the authors, specifying the country or region of production of not only the product itself, but also where the main ingredients come from, can help consumers assess the sustainability and ethics of production, support local producers and choose environmentally friendly products. A description of the technologies and methods used, such as organic farming, sustainable fisheries or waste-free technologies, as well as compliance with workers' rights, working conditions and social standards in production, should be given. Commitment to the fair trade concept ^[7] and similar promising international practices.

All the proposed initiatives can be implemented through the Fair Sign mechanism (https://честныйзнак .Russian Federation), as one of the successful and relevant instruments existing on the market. Creation of platforms and applications from leading researchers of goods and services (https://roskachestvo.gov.ru /), where consumers can quickly find product information, compare products, and receive feedback from other users.

Responsible consumption implies a conscious and rational approach to the purchase and use of goods, including the adoption of a minimalist philosophy that focuses on necessity rather than quantity, leading to a reduction in the number of purchases and to reduce market congestion with similar goods, exacerbating competition and creating opportunities for the development of unscrupulous manufacturers of low-quality products. Awareness of waste sorting rules and possibilities of recycling and disposal of unclaimed products. Striving to reduce the amount of waste produced during consumption. Encouraging a creative approach to reuse items that are no longer needed, such as donating them to charity, selling them on the secondary market, or using them in new projects.

Responsible consumption helps to reduce the negative impact on the environment, supports social justice and helps to form a more conscious society capable of influencing manufacturers and retailers, encouraging them to adopt more environmentally friendly and ethical practices.

Buying goods from local producers can reduce the carbon footprint by minimizing the distance between production and consumption of goods and services, and support the local economy. Also, locally produced products tend to be fresher and more nutritious, as they can be harvested at the optimal time and not subjected to prolonged storage in warehouses.

Ensuring the availability of goods produced within the borders of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation in each retail facility through state regulation of the mandatory share of local products with a unified calculation methodology that takes into account the priority of organic producers and the resource availability of the regions.

Consumer confidence is directly linked to the Food Security Doctrine of the Russian Federation 2020, which aims to ensure the availability and quality of food. It repeatedly mentions the requirements for food products to comply with environmental standards, but the concept of environmental standards is rather vague and needs to be elaborated in detail, taking into account different approaches to ensuring the environmental friendliness of raw materials and the food processing industry.

To date, the most important document related to the development of organic production, in addition to the Food Security Doctrine of the Russian Federation 2020, is the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated July 4, 2023 No. 1788-r Approving the Strategy for the Development of Organic Production in the Russian Federation until 2030.

The document specifies the concepts of Organic agriculture of the Russian Federation and Organic products, reveals the factors of minimizing the negative impact on the environment, and is the basis for the development of state programs of the Russian Federation and its subjects. Aims to increase the share of organic products in the domestic market and export supplies. Promotes the creation of necessary conditions for the development of organic agriculture, including support for farmers and logistics development. This includes support programs for organic producers, including financial subsidies, training, and consultations. Emphasizes the need for information campaigns to raise public awareness of the benefits of organic products and their quality and to conduct research and development in the field of organic agriculture to increase its efficiency and sustainability.

The further development of the Russian regulatory framework for the production of organic products is based on existing international practices, which have been repeatedly revised over the past time, thanks to which they have not lost their novelty and relevance.

In the light of the above, to develop legislation in the field of turnover and processing of organic products according to the degree of influence on the possibility of classifying a product to a certain level of environmental friendliness according to five main indicators: raw materials, production, ingredients, energy and efficiency ^[8].

Clean raw materials for organic products imply compliance with high standards of environmental cleanliness and safety for human health and the environment, the use of natural fertilizers and plant protection methods, the maintenance of ecosystems and species diversity in agrocenoses, efficient use of water and land resources, minimization of waste and pollution, as well as consumer awareness of the purity of raw materials based on trust. to the source of information and confidence in the legal regulation of this issue.

Clean production for organic products implies the principles and practices of processing clean raw materials, minimizing harmful effects on the human body and the environment through the use of environmentally friendly production methods, abandoning aggressive technologies, reducing the level of refinement of products, reviewing consumption scenarios and priorities in organoleptic assessment. It is also important to consider how production methods affect the preservation of nutritional properties and bioactive components, which ultimately determines their health benefits.

Pure ingredients for organic products imply the validity of the use of technological additives in the production of finished products, their impact on human health and the environment, their inapplicability to create an apparent superiority over similar products and giving them imaginary organoleptic value (flavor and odor enhancers, discoloration, consistency, etc.).

Clean energy for organic products implies the ratio of the necessary macro- and microelements, vitamins, and other essential substances contained in the product. Organic products should provide adequate nutrition, support the immune system, and contribute to the overall well-being of the individual.

Net efficiency for organic products implies the use of optimal transportation routes and methods, the use of environmentally friendly and recyclable packaging materials, ensuring fast delivery to reduce storage time and product losses, minimizing excess production and losses at all stages of distribution through the introduction of risk-based inventory management systems.

The existing environmental legislation is more focused on the production of organic agricultural raw materials, while this approach can form the basis for the development of a code for the production of processed organic products. This will lead to the need to find alternative ways of innovative investment in order to simultaneously comply with legal requirements and remain competitive in the market. The result may be investments by the industrial sector in new technologies, such as the introduction of cleaner production processes, the use of renewable energy sources and the development of environmentally friendly materials that will minimize the negative impact on the environment. Companies, striving for sustainable development, will come to realize not only compliance with environmental standards, but also the need for social responsibility, which will increase consumer confidence and improve brand image. Of course, one should not forget about the "immediate factors" of the formation and development of environmental legislation, which directly affect its state, structure, hierarchy of sources of law, and the quality of the law. "Experts still record the insufficiently high quality of both adopted and updated legislative and other regulatory legal acts, as evidenced by gaps, i.e. unresolved issues, declarative norms, lack of elaboration of terminology; inconsistency of environmental legislation with criminal, administrative and other; lack of parallel development of mechanisms for the implementation of the law and ensuring conditions for effective implementation" ^[9].