The Food Market in Russia as A Source of Threats to Public Health

The article analyzes the risks arising in the production and circulation of food products in Russia, which pose a potential, threat to the health of citizens. The authors note that ensuring the quality and safety of food products is acquiring the character of a strategic task for Russia, on the solution of which the possibility of its sustainable development depends. The most significant health risks for Russians are associated with the uncontrolled use of dietary supplements, antibiotics and agricultural chemistry, nanotechnology and nanomaterials in the food industry. At the same time, the main threat to public health is posed by counterfeit and falsified products, the volume of which on the Russian food market remains consistently high. Among the reasons contributing to the spread of these threats, the main ones, according to the authors, are the shortcomings of the organizational and legal mechanism for ensuring the quality and safety of food, as well as the insufficient development of the laboratory and research base. As measures aimed at minimizing and eliminating threats to public health arising on the food market, the following are proposed: improving the system for determining the authenticity of food products, developing criteria for assessing their quality and safety, taking into account modern trends in food production, adjusting the regulations for the use of pesticides and other agricultural chemistry taking into account the state of the environment, tightening legal liability for producers and sellers of food products for violation of the current rules for their production and sale.