Yogurt-gate: Russians Block Chobani Shipment from US Olympic Team
The US Olympic team loves their Chobani yogurt. After all, Chobani is one of their official sponsors. But an Olympics-bound shipment sits in a New Jersey warehouse, benched on a technicality.
The Russians have blocked US dairy products for the last three years, and they’re not about to make any exceptions, even for the Winter Olympics.
On Thursday, the U.S. Dairy Export Council and the National Milk Producers Federation weighed in more specifically, calling on Russian authorities to end its country’s three-year embargo of U.S. dairy products. The industry groups referred to a trade agreement that expired in 2010 and has been held up in negotiations since. On its website Thursday, the Russian Embassy stated that the nation’s “Federal Veterinary and Phytosanitary Monitoring Service considers it important to explain that the importation of dairy and other products to [Russia] … is only possible when providing an approved veterinary certificate.”
More: Chobani Blocked by Russians as Americans Try to Push Yogurt Through
So much for international cooperation and the “Olympic spirit.”