Low-quality food for army — Ministry of Defense reacted to the scandal

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine responded to the scandal with inedible canned food for the army. According to the State Operator for Non-lethal Aquisition, the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection is responsible for monitoring the quality of canned goods supplied to the Armed Forces.

This was reported by Ukrainska Pravda with reference to the State Operator for Non-lethal Aquisition (DOT). 

Inedible canned food for the Armed Forces of Ukraine

According to DOT, an agency under the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine that provides for the logistical needs of the Armed Forces, the quality of canned food supplies is monitored during the production stage.

"The Department of Food Safety and Veterinary Medicine (a structural unit of the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection — SSUFSCP) takes control samples from the batch, sends them for laboratory analysis and, in case of a positive conclusion on the suitability for consumption, issues a certificate. We also note that we have not recorded any deliveries without the above certificate," DOT commented.

According to DOT, control over the compliance of batch volumes with quality certificates is not automated: the relevant certificates are provided to military units upon acceptance of goods.

Automation of control processes

"To enhance product quality control, State Operator for Non-lethal Aquisition (DOT) plans to digitize the process of verifying quality certificates within the DOT-Chain IT system," the statement said.

The plan involves requiring suppliers to specify the quality certificate number in the delivery note within the IT system, enabling traceability of the product batch's quality.

"Suppliers who fail to attach a certificate to the delivery note or whose existing certificate has exhausted the approved supply volumes will not be able to generate the necessary documentation or dispatch the goods," DOT explained.

State Operator for Non-lethal Aquisition did not specify the expected timeline for implementing this feature.

Recently, Rustem Umerov announced how Ukraine is going to reform the system of food procurement for the army.

The Ministry of Defense will also develop technical specifications for new knee pants, pouches and baseball caps at the request of the military.

Earlier, Novyny.LIVE reported that more than 200 million euros in defense procurement were overpaid by the government to Spetstechnoexport in one year. In particular, this refers to the purchase of about 80 thousand 120-mm ammunition at an inflated price.