An unusual cargo was detained on the Russian-Belarusian border - Belarusian suppliers intended to import 640 kilograms of crickets into the territory of the Russian Federation without the necessary documentation related to such goods.

In total, border guards found 39 boxes with crickets, which were prepared by employees of the ONTO Biotechnology enterprise. This company is a startup and supplies frozen insects to various enterprises in Belarus and neighboring countries. In this case, the crickets were sent to Moscow - in the capital, the insects had to be processed at one of the meat processing plants, packed in jars and sold as animal feed.

To investigate the situation, customs officers involved experts from the Rosselkhoznadzor to assist, as they considered it necessary to have veterinary certification with such a load. The Rosselkhoznadzor confirmed that the certificate must accompany such a load as crickets and other insects, since an explanation is needed for what this product is intended for: as an additive to confectionery, as animal feed or for other purposes.

On the boxes with Belarusian crickets there was no marking with information about the manufacturer, nor the expiration date. As a result, the entire batch of crickets was destroyed - foreign insects were put on fire in the territory of the biological waste disposal plant. It should be noted that ONTO Biotechnology employees agree so that the goods are not marked. But they also claim that the documents for the boxes with crickets were in order. The company does not specify the amount of lost goods; lawyers and competent departments of both countries understand the nuances of the case.