The Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation has prepared draft amendments to the labeling rules for certain types of confectionery products. The agency proposes excluding spherical lollipops weighing up to 30 grams from the mandatory tracking system.

The initiative is driven by technical limitations in the packaging process. During testing, it was found that the mechanics of wrapping a spherical lollipop (twisting the packaging material directly onto the product) creates creases. This makes it impossible to apply the Data Matrix code on a flat surface, preventing it from being scanned by control systems.

According to the proposed amendments, the exemption will apply only to the primary individual packaging of lollipops on a stick. However, the requirement is not entirely abolished: if such caramel is packed in secondary consumer packaging (for example, a bag or a box), the manufacturer is obliged to apply a readable tracking code to this external container.

This initiative demonstrates the regulator's adaptability to the production realities of the FMCG market. The implementation of the "Honest SIGN" (Chestny ZNAK) system in new product categories often encounters technological barriers on production lines. Exempting individual spherical caramel from Data Matrix is a logical step that will allow manufacturers to avoid additional costs for re-equipping packaging lines and prevent supply disruptions of a popular product category, while maintaining turnover control through the labeling of secondary packaging.