French dairy major Danone has objected to Russian agriculture minister's charges of adulteration of its dairy products.
Russian Agriculture Minister Nikolai Fyodorov said that Danone and Wimm-Bill Dann, which is controlled by PepsiCo, produce their products using vegetable oils.
Fyodorov claims that large international producers "buy milk on the cheap and add palm oil and turn it into a 'dairy product', deceiving all of us".
Interfax news agency quoted Fyodorov as saying: "There is only 10-20 per cent of milk left in such dairy products, the rest is vegetable oils."
The minister has asked regional governors to monitor large dairy producers across the country in order to ensure that their products are not being adulterated with cheap raw products.
Danone Russian said: "We, Danone Russia and all our staff are deeply insulted by this statement.
"We are not only outraged by such statements from an official but view them as a direct slander, causing harm to our reputation both in Russia and in the whole world."
Danone has 20 factories in Russia and employs over 12,000 people.
Image: The Russian minister accused Danone of adulterating its products with cheap ingredients. Photo: courtesy of Tiverylucky / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
