When we buy a particular product made in Russia, we pay attention to the inscription “manufactured in accordance with GOST” or “complies with technical specifications”. For those who don’t know what the difference is, let’s try to figure it out.

GOST is a state standard. Many institutes, enterprises, and experts are involved in creating GOST. Numerous experiments, tests, tests are carried out. After the standard has been developed and confirmed, it is approved by the State Standard of Russia - an organization with the rights of a ministry that not only checks and approves GOST, but also zealously ensures that manufacturers comply with it.

TU is an abbreviation for " technical specifications» , which are formed by the manufacturer himself, that is, unlike GOST, other components (components) can be added to the product, which do not significantly affect the properties of the product, but can give it other qualities.

All products sold in stores must comply with either GOST or TU.

Let's look at examples:

For example, let's take stew. It has GOST 5284-84, according to which canned beef stew must be prepared according to the following recipe:

That's it, there shouldn't be anything else in it. Therefore, if you take beef stew from the shelves, on the can of which it is indicated that it was produced (complies) with GOST 5284-84, then you can be sure that it does not contain soy and that it contains at least 87% meat.

The same applies to other products - sausage, condensed milk, sour cream, butter, etc. If GOST is written on the package, you can take it and be sure that the jar contains exactly what is written on the package and you can eat it.

Sausage: if the packaging indicates that this product complies with specifications, this is a sign that soy, which is unloved by many, is definitely present in the product. However, like other, not always useful impurities. However, if the inscription on the packaging states that this product is produced in accordance with GOST, then we can say for sure that this product does not contain soy.

Thus, GOST strictly formulates the state requirements for the quality and composition of the product, which give certain qualities to the consumer, which are the necessary minimum to determine that the product is of high quality and the consumer will be satisfied.

Specifications are conditions for the quality and composition of goods that the manufacturer independently compiled for its products. As a rule, specifications are close to GOST for similar products, but always allow for deterioration in quality compared to GOST.

To put it simply and in clear language, when buying sausage placed as corresponding to the technical specifications, you will not get poisoned, however taste qualities such sausage will obviously be worse than that marked with GOST.

But not all cans of the same stew indicate GOST. On many copies there is a technical specification (TU).

Many small and large manufacturers are developing their own standards for their products. And they produce it precisely according to these technical conditions created by themselves. Tomorrow you can organize the production of any of your products, develop and register specifications for them and calmly produce goods according to this specifications.

As you might guess, these technical conditions can include almost anything - soy, dyes, and preservatives. Therefore, products according to specifications do not always differ in quality and safety.

For some products, GOST standards become outdated, and new specifications are developed for them that meet new trends in the production of a particular product. And a product according to technical specifications may be better and of higher quality than a product according to GOST, but this is not always the case. Let's return to our favorite stew - why develop a new specification for it if there is an excellent GOST? It’s right to put soy in a jar instead of meat, fill it all with preservatives and dyes. Formally, there is no fault with the manufacturer - he produced the canned food according to his specifications. But the product, to put it mildly, turned out to be not quite a stew...

Therefore, if you have a choice of what to take - a product in accordance with GOST or TU, take it in accordance with GOST, you won’t go wrong. Yes, there may be cases where the manufacturer does not comply with the recipe according to GOST, but this is already a violation and you can complain about it.

Play on words

Pay attention to the counter with butter in the shop. The choice is huge: “Peasant”, “Slivochnoe”. Now take a closer look - on which of the packs is the word OIL written?

Everything is very simple, there is a play on words here - seeing the name “Peasant” on the packaging, which is shaped like a stick of butter, you think that this is butter and buy it. But no, turn the pack over and you will see that this is a vegetable-fat spread produced according to specifications. This is usually written in small letters on the back. There is no smell of oil here, as they say. It’s just that the name is “Peasant”. No matter how it sounds (vegetable-fat spread “Smolenskoe”, for example), it will not become oil.

The same tricks apply to mayonnaise. “Salad” says the package, which is shaped like mayonnaise. Sorry, what is this? The word "mayonnaise" is not on the packaging. Well, this is not mayonnaise at all - with reverse side all the same TU. And the composition is completely chemical... GOST does not allow chemicals, that’s why they don’t write the words “mayonnaise” - because then you need to meet the requirements of GOST.

There are many more examples that can be given:
“Homemade stew” - turn the jar over - canned food according to specifications, and not necessarily with meat.
“Condensed milk milk” - turn the can over - produced according to specifications from powdered milk with an admixture of dyes and preservatives.

There are no such goods as canned meat and condensed milk. These are all popular names of products. There is beef stew and condensed milk. So they mislead buyers by calling products with such commonly used names, just so as not to produce them according to GOST. This is understandable - according to GOST, quality and recipes must be observed. It's expensive. It is much easier to use “chemistry” and call it not condensed milk according to GOST, but “condensed milk” according to TU.

A manufacturer producing goods in accordance with GOST does not need to disguise itself as commonly used product names. If it is stew, then it says “Beef stew”, if it is butter, then “Butter”, if it is condensed milk, then “Condensed milk”.

Therefore, choose products more carefully in the store. For example, if in front of you is “Peasant”, this does not mean that this is butter - find the packaging that says “Butter” and indicates the GOST according to which this oil is produced. Then you can be sure that this is butter, it is made from milk and there are no dangerous ingredients in it. And this applies to any products - almost all of them have GOST standards.

It can be difficult for the average consumer to understand the abbreviations and markings on packaging. Olga Kostyleva, an expert from Rosstandart, Deputy Head of the Department of Technical Regulation and Standardization, answered the portal site about what signs to look for on packaging and what quality standards are in force in Russia today.

Which is better: GOST or TU?

In Russia for a long time product standards were mandatory. Most of the population are accustomed to the taste of those products that were manufactured in accordance with GOST. Therefore, such products enjoy great confidence among buyers.

If the manufacturer fulfills all the requirements of GOST, then the products are of consistently high quality. However, it is incorrect to assume that products manufactured in accordance with GOST are higher in quality than those manufactured in accordance with technical specifications. Specifications are developed if there is no GOST for the product. Some manufacturers, trying to improve the quality of their products new level, develop their own specifications, the requirements of which are higher than GOST. But, unfortunately, in most cases, the manufacturer switches to working according to specifications due to the fact that he is unable to meet the requirements of GOST.

How to “read” a label correctly?

The text of a specific standard, which is indicated on the label, can be found on the website of Rosstandart and the EEC. If this GOST is subject to national technical regulations (TR), for example, TR for milk, fat and oil products, juices, then all these GOSTs can be found freely available on the Rosstandart website.
Standards for technical regulations Customs Union(TR CU) are also publicly available on the EEC website. GOST texts published on unofficial sites should not be trusted; they may contain errors.
To ensure that the product complies with national technical regulations, pay attention to the packaging. The label must contain a sign of compliance with technical regulations.

Or the EAC icon - for technical regulations of the Customs Union.

This year several new technical regulations of the Customs Union will be adopted at once. What will happen to Russian TR in this regard?

A transition period has been established for the TR on food safety. If the manufacturer has confirmed the compliance of its products before July 1 of this year, then it can work according to national legislation until February 15, 2015. If he applied for registration of the declaration later, after July 1, then he must now confirm compliance with the requirements of the new technical regulations of the Customs Union.

Until February 15, 2015, both national legislation and the legislation of the Customs Union will apply. And after this date, a unified CU legislation will be created. After this, national regulations will not apply.

How will technical regulations help consumers?

Technical regulations are primarily responsible for safety. There is no clear answer regarding quality. For example, technically the milk regulations contain a fairly wide list of indicators that allow the identification of dairy products. In particular, this TR contains requirements for quality indicators of fermented milk products.

With grain, on the contrary, no quality indicators have been established that can determine the variety or belonging of the grain to a particular class.
Compliance with technical regulations for food products in Russia is controlled by two organizations: Rospotrebnadzor (food products and food raw materials) and Rosselkhoznadzor (products of animal origin).

The adoption of new technical regulations, according to the expert, will not become an obstacle to counterfeit products. The main requirements that are established in the TR are requirements for product safety. A counterfeit may well be safe, but not live up to its name. To combat counterfeit products, other measures are needed. It is necessary to strengthen government control over compliance with the information that the manufacturer puts on the label.

If commercial network buys products that are packaged in the sales area, then all information must be applied to the packaging in which the consumer will buy these packaged products.

How to choose the right quality product?

When choosing products, you should not focus only on low price or brand recognition. Please note the information contained on the product packaging:

• A product produced according to specifications may be in no way inferior in quality to GOST.
• Look for signs of compliance with regulations on the packaging.
• Remember that regulations and standards only guarantee that a product is safe. The manufacturer is responsible for the quality of the product.

The quality of your diet and, ultimately, your health depend on choosing a safe product. Therefore, be careful about the products you buy during your next trip to the store.

Government and industry standards are designed to protect people from purchasing low-quality products. Manufacturers are obliged to produce goods that comply with all established standards so that there is no serious problems. Each consumer should pay close attention to this data, since they all have important responsible for quality. You need to be able to distinguish these data, just like specifications, as well as the areas in which they operate.

State standards - GOST

The state standard (GOST) is created for products of inter-industry significance. This regulation is aimed at ensuring the quality of raw materials, services and other types of products. All market participants are required to comply with these rules. IN Lately GOSTs no longer have such a colossal influence on manufacturers of goods as they did before, and are being replaced by technical regulations. However, state standards are still important and are used in all CIS countries. Standards are adopted by the Interstate Council for Standardization, Metrology and Certification (IGS).

Industry standards - OST

An industry standard (OST) is created for products of industry importance. As a rule, it is created in those industries where state standards need serious improvement or are completely absent. If a manufacturing company operates in an area where there are industry standards, then compliance with them is mandatory. Based on the emerging industry standard, a future state standard is already being developed. Approval of an industry standard must be made by the government agency or ministry that is responsible for the industry. This structure is also responsible for ensuring that manufacturers comply with this standard.

Technical specifications - TU

Technical specifications are drawn up directly by manufacturers, after which they are certified by the ministry responsible for the industry, which may make minor amendments. Similar situations arise when government or industry standards are too demanding or, conversely, do not sufficiently describe the requirements. Manufacturing companies often resort to creating their own technical specifications in order to certify their products. This method is faster and less expensive than trying to bring products into compliance with standards that have long been outdated. As a rule, technical specifications are clarifications to state standards for those data that are not sufficiently described. Manufacturers create conditions based on their own ideas about production methods and methods.

Differences between government and industry standards

The main difference between OST and GOST is their scope of application. If state standards are mandatory for all market segments and for each manufacturing company, then industry standards are important only for a specific industry, and in others they simply will not be valid. The difference also lies in the body that develops one or another standard. If GOST is under the control of the Interstate Council for Standardization, Metrology and Certification, then the department or ministry responsible for this or that industry is responsible for OST.

Industry standards do not replace GOSTs in any specific situations. They are created in cases where the state standard requires clarification or when in a particular industry there is no clear indication regarding a particular situation. When developing a state standard, some points are not taken into account, while OST requires full compliance with GOST. Another difference is that products that must pass state certification must comply with state standards. For those goods that do not require certification, compliance with industry standards will be sufficient.

Similar differences can be found between state standards and technical specifications. In terms of their characteristics, the technical conditions are much closer to industry standards than to GOSTs. So, unlike GOST, technical conditions are created by entrepreneurs-manufacturers. Technical conditions are much less significant and are often not taken into account at all. The thing is that many manufacturers create technical specifications based on their own ideas about product quality, and people competent for certification may have too superficial an understanding of this topic to take into account all the points. As a result, other manufacturing companies from the same industry do not strive to comply with these technical conditions, but choose exclusively state standards, since it is their compliance that will help them pass state certification. Only state standards undergo strict testing before publication. They are examined by competent people in special laboratories. Involved in the creation and approval of GOST a large number of experts, which is why they are considered mandatory to comply with all quality standards.

Quite often from different people you hear the phrase: “If a product is made according to specifications, it means it is either a fake or simply a low-quality product. But what is made according to GOST is a product of decent quality.”

This stereotype is so firmly rooted in our minds that technical specifications are often like a red traffic light for a buyer. You need to stop, you can’t buy this.

Of course, this is far from true.

GOST (state standard)- a document that is mandatory for use in those areas that are determined by the content of the standard itself. GOST contains requirements for production, product quality, packaging, labeling, composition, and so on.

TU (technical conditions)– a document establishing technical requirements that a specific product must satisfy. Specifications are developed according to the decision of the developer (manufacturer) or at the request of the customer (consumer) of the product. The requirements established by the Specifications cannot contradict the mandatory requirements of GOSTs that apply to these products.

Specifications are developed when it is necessary to make a change to an existing production technology, or the composition of a product, to ensure its individuality in the market or for reasons related to the peculiarities of its production.

A good example: GOST R 52196-2011, valid for the production of cooked sausage, allows the use of a huge number of food additives - stabilizers, flavor enhancers, preservatives and antioxidants.

GOST does not say anything about the benefits of the product or its naturalness, as many mistakenly believe. GOST only guarantees the consumer compliance with certain product manufacturing standards specified in the document.

But then a manufacturer appears who does not want to produce sausage with a young chemist’s kit, permitted by the state standard. He is forced to receive specifications for his products, as he changes the composition of the product. In this case - in better side. His product is healthier, safer and more natural.

– GOST is what people have been accustomed to for decades. This icon on the packaging seems to relieve all the worries and fears of the consumer. “I see the GOST badge, which means I’m buying,” explains Sergei Dzyabko, a specialist in the field of food certification. – The reputation of technical specifications in this regard is not so crystal clear, since the product according to technical specifications can be improved or worsened. Or you make sausage without nitrite, phosphates and glutamate and get TU. Or you make sausage without meat at all - and you also get TU.

In a store, the buyer should first of all pay attention to the composition of the product, and not to the standard by which this product is made. Information about whether a product is made according to GOST or according to specifications will not tell you about the ingredients in the composition.

A striking example is GOST on a can of condensed milk. A large state standard icon and the name of the product – “Condensed Milk”. Naive consumers reason: the product is made according to GOST, which means everything is fine with it. And in the product, at the same time, there is almost no milk fat, since they are manufactured in accordance with GOST for canned milk containing condensed sugar and GOST allows the use of vegetable and animal fats.

In a word, do not be afraid of TU and do not blindly trust GOST. Better yet, carefully study the label and avoid products that are much cheaper than similar products from other brands.

The people of Russia are in a fever: what to buy? What to focus on? GOST, TU, STO on the product label, which is better? I'll try to make things clear.

GOST (state standard) is approved by the federal executive body in the field of standardization - the Interstate Council for Standardization. Before adopting one or another GOST, the product must undergo serious testing and inspections in special certified laboratories, the results of which are evaluated research assistants industry.

Specifications (technical specifications - a type of organization standard) are developed by the manufacturer and approved by the industry ministry with minimal formalities. Specifications may be less demanding than GOST. Or, on the contrary, differ sharply from GOST when, for example, it is outdated.

The advantages of specifications for a manufacturing company are the opportunity to develop new tastes and new types of products, and thus expand the range. Because there are not so many GOST products and all of them taste almost identical, because... the recipes are the same.

STO (organization standard, approved legal entity) - This normative document, establishing the technical requirements that the product must satisfy. Service stations are not required to undergo a mandatory examination at the Center for Standardization and Metrology. Therefore, the production of products according to service stations is the responsibility of the manager and the entire enterprise. The abbreviations TU or STO, which can most often be found on product labels, are considered a lower standard. However, for responsible manufacturers, the main thing is the honest composition of the product, for which they are responsible. So read the labels and bon appetit!