All companies involved in the circulation of goods of animal origin are required to switch to electronic veterinary certification through the federal state information system (FSIS) "Mercury". These are manufacturers and distributors of goods supervised by the State Veterinary Control - meat processing plants, poultry farms, dairies, seafood producers, as well as logistics centers, retail chains, etc. Now they can choose how to issue veterinary accompanying documents (VCD): in electronic format or on paper. From July 1, 2018, they will be required to do this only through the FSIS "Mercury". Some groups of goods did not need to be accompanied by veterinary documents at all until July 1, 2018.

How will it work?

Let's take a look at a meat processing plant as an example.

The farm sends the delivery to the meat processing plant - draws up electronic VVD for the batch. Upon receipt, the meat processing plant makes a note in the "Mercury" that he accepted this batch with a veterinary certificate under such and such a number - he extinguishes it. The meat-packing plant has produced sausage, sausages and minced meat from these raw materials and sends them to various retail outlets - for each position of its delivery, it creates new VVD. When the store accepts the goods, it needs to pay off the corresponding VSD in "Mercury".

Thus, with the help of the system, it will be possible to trace where a particular sausage came from on the counter and which farms supplied meat for it. It is planned that such a system of work with veterinary accompanying documents will not give a chance to falsification.

What is the difference?

Paper VSD- This is a document on official letterhead with a signature and seal. You can issue one for the entire consignment note, or you can issue one for separate items in it. The sender keeps the spine of the document, the forwarder takes the document with him and, if necessary, presents. If intermediate recipients are envisaged in the way of the goods, for example, a distributor, then the paper VVD is passed along the chain from hand to hand until it reaches the final recipient, who keeps it until the expiration date of the product.

Electronic VSD is an electronic document generated by the FSIS "Mercury", the main requisite of which is a unique UUID. An electronic VSD is created for each item of the consignment note. It happens in production and transport. In production, the fact is recorded that such and such a product has been produced from a certain raw material. They do not need to be extinguished. Transport reflects the fact of movement of products, both with a change of owner and not, for example, from production to warehouse. Recipients, including intermediate ones, are obliged to extinguish such VVD and issue new ones when they send the goods for further sale.

How to work with VSD in the Mercury Contour

The Mercury contour has three solutions:

• Integration module for 1C
• Mobile version for extinguishing VSD

Web version and mobile application

The Kontur.Mercury web version and mobile application are designed for retail stores, cafes and municipal institutions. The solutions are created for those who only need to accept controlled goods and mark the receipt in "Mercury". To start working in the web version and mobile application- you only need a device with Internet access.

In the web version and mobile application, the user can:

• receive automatic notifications about incoming VSD;
• to extinguish the VSD for the accepted goods in whole or in part;
• form returnable VSD;
• read information from the QR code on the product packaging using a scanner;
• find VSD on the waybill and combine them for faster clearing.

Module for 1C

Suitable for any configuration 1C: 7.7, 8.X, for conventional and controlled forms.

It helps users who create production and transport IRRs:

• work in a single window mode directly in your 1C database, and not switch from 1C to Mercury and vice versa;
• avoid errors and discrepancies: data is automatically pulled from 1C;
• forget about the loss of documents, they will always be in the system;
• get access to opportunities that are not available when working via the web, for example, to instantly create XC and sites for your clients;
• automatically generate IRR for each waybill in a few seconds.

How to register with FSIS "Mercury"?

You need to register with Mercury in accordance with the procedure approved: either submit an application to the Rosselkhoznadzor or its territorial department on paper, or send it by e-mail. In the second case, the requirements are different for individual entrepreneurs and organizations.

In the web interface, employees of the organization can register with different rights: make requests for IRR, form them, extinguish, combine these functions. Veterinarians who are authorized persons of a body or institution included in the system of the State Veterinary Service of the Russian Federation are registered from it.

The web interface of "Mercury" is characterized by the disadvantages of any web interface: all data - product category, manufacturer, where it came from, production date, etc. - must be entered manually. At the same time, firstly, there is a risk of errors, and secondly, it takes a long time, therefore IT companies already offer solutions that allow you to automate and speed up work with VSD.

How to Prepare?

• Already register in "Mercury" and master its web interface: create a list of products, your outlets, legal entities, etc.
• Understand what kind of actions with electronic VVD your organization has to carry out: form, extinguish, or both. If to create, then what type: production or transport, as well as who has the right to do it. The rights to form the VSD are delimited by the Orders of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation of 12/18/2015 No. 646, 647, 648. Proceeding from this, register your employees with the appropriate rights in Mercury.

To issue electronic VSD for products from the list according to Order No. 647, specialists need to pass certification. It is carried out by commissions that are created by the executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in the field of veterinary medicine. Meetings of the certification commission are held monthly. The schedule of its work is approved by the authorized bodies and posted on their official websites. The register of certified specialists is already being maintained.

More about this - in the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 09.11.2006 No. 1145 "On approval of the rules for certification of specialists in the field of veterinary medicine" and in the Order of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation dated 03.05.2017 No. 212 "On approval of the application form for certification of specialists in the field of veterinary medicine and the procedure for conducting an inspection knowledge of the acts regulating the implementation of veterinary certification by specialists in the field of veterinary medicine, and practical skills in drawing up veterinary accompanying documents. "

• Get acquainted with the rules of work in "Mercury". They are in Appendices 1 and 2 to the above (note that the procedure for amending this Order has been launched).
• Estimate the amount of work with VSD. If you need to create more than 300 packages per month (remember that one IRR is for one position in the invoice, it takes three to five minutes to complete it), choose an integration solution, implement and master it by July 1, 2018.
• If you work with retail chains, carefully study their requirements for issuing an IRR addressed to them, and then try to fulfill these requirements at least in the web interface. Don't forget about them when choosing integration.

Municipalities, off-chain retail and catering also need to prepare. Companies that only accept controlled products must register with the FSIS "Mercury", create sites and check that all suppliers correctly send accompanying documents. Such enterprises will have to master a massive state portal, even if they only extinguish incoming VVD. Optimal solution for such organizations - choose service for simplified work with Mercury.

What are the risks of non-compliance with the requirements?

If a car with a load is stopped on the way for inspection, the forwarder must show the UUID or QR code of the specific VVD. The UUID can be checked in a public service. If you scan the QR code, then it will lead to the same resource, but with the already entered UUID. How exactly the forwarder will present this data: in the form of a printout from "Mercury" or on mobile device- it is up to the supplier to decide.

The absence of an IRR will result in a fine. According to the fine, the fine will be from 3,000 rubles if it is written out on the driver as an official, or from 10,000 to 20,000 rubles. - on entity... In the latter case, the suspension of activities for up to 90 days may also be a punishment. Changes to this article are currently being proposed.

Pavel Bolshakov, Lead Solution Developer

According to FZ-243, from July 1, 2018, all veterinary certificates must be issued electronically. Manufacturers and sellers of meat and dairy products are also subject to the law. Both are required to work with veterinary certificates.

System Mercury 2018: what is it, for whom and the timing of the transition

What is FSIS “Mercury”?

FSIS Mercury is a federal state Information system for retail trade for the registration of electronic veterinary certificates (eVDS - electronic veterinary accompanying documents) of which the State Veterinary Information System (Veterinary Information System) consists. "Mercury" is intended for electronic certification of goods controlled by the State Veterinary Supervision, as well as tracking their movements on the territory of our country. The main goal of introducing new requirements is:

• creation of a unified information environment for veterinary medicine,
• improving biological safety,
• food safety control.

Especially for grocery stores - the commodity accounting and cash program Business.Ru Retail.
Automated cashier's place, support of 54-FZ and EGAIS, work with weight goods, warehouse accounting and sales analytics.

How does FSIS “Mercury” work?

Which organizations are required to connect to Mercury?

All organizations whose economic activities are related to the circulation of goods of animal origin should be connected to the FSIS. These companies include enterprises - farms, dairies, poultry farms, meat processing plants, seafood producers.

Logistic centers, wholesale depots, retail chains and retail stores, catering outlets should also keep records of electronic VSD through the FSIS. In other words, according to the new requirements, everyone who, by the nature of their activities, is associated with controlled goods of animal origin, must work.

What are the terms of the transition to work with "Mercury"?

The terms of connection to the system are spelled out in the Federal Law dated July 13, 2015 No. 243 “On Amendments to the Law of the Russian Federation“ On Veterinary Medicine ”. According to federal law, all VSDs must be issued electronically using the Mercury system starting from July 1, 2018.

Can you postpone the transition to "Mercury"?

The transition to work with the Mercury system has already been postponed for six months, from January 1, 2018 to July 1, 2018. But we do not recommend counting on a further delay in the entry into force of the new requirements. Instead, we advise you to prepare in advance for the new standards of work and think about how to organize this process with the least effort on the part of your employees.

Training video on working in FSIS "Mercury"

How to connect to FSIS Mercury: VetIS.API

What do you need to connect to Mercury?

In general, the procedure for connecting to "Mercury" is quite simple.

To register in the system, you must:

• fill out the application form. The template is published on the official website of the Rosselkhoznadzor. Download a template of an application for registration in FSIS "Mercury" for individual entrepreneurs >>
• choose the option for filing an application that suits you - a paper version, when visiting any territorial administration of Rosselkhoznadzor, or an electronic version sent by email. Declarations sent by email must be certified electronic signature... Individual entrepreneurs can use a simple electronic signature, and LLC - an enhanced qualified electronic signature (CEP);
• send an application to the Rosselkhoznadzor;
• choose the most convenient form of working with the system for your company - through a browser or API-interface (VETIS.API). The second option involves the use of specialized solutions that provide comfortable work other accounting systems of your company along with Mercury.

After connecting to the Mercury system, we recommend that you pay attention to the volume and complexity of your staff's work when interacting with the FSIS. At this stage, it is important to reduce the complexity of interaction with the system so that the emergence of new requirements does not affect the previously debugged business processes.

Today on the market there is a sufficient selection of proposals for integrating GIS with systems already used in your company. So the Columbus solution to integrate the Mercury system with 1C allows you to set up work with eVSD within the framework of the standards adopted by the regulator, improve the quality of accounting for controlled products and automate the entire chain of commodity circulation with minimal labor costs from the personnel.

Complex automation of a grocery store from 500 rubles / month!
Monitor revenue, inventory, purchases, reporting and employees.

For which products do you need to issue electronic VVD?

The general list of products requiring registration of an IRR is given in the Order of the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia No. 648 dated December 18, 2015. It follows from this document that all goods subject to veterinary control must be taken into account in the Mercury system.

The list of products requiring registration of VSD:

• meat, offal and fats;
• sausages, prepared and canned meat products;
• fish in any form, including canned fish;
• crustaceans, molluscs, aquatic invertebrates;
• bird eggs;
• all types of dairy products;
• cottage cheese and cheeses, including processed cheeses;
• butter and other fats and oils made from milk, milk spreads;
• pasta stuffed with meat, sausage, fish or seafood;
• inactive yeast;
• soups and broths, as well as preparations for making soups and broths;
• ice cream, except for ice cream on a fruit and berry basis, fruit and food ice;
• feed grain: hard and soft wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn;
• natural honey;
• propolis, beeswax and waxes of other insects, spermaceti;
• compound feed;
• fertilizers of plant and animal origin;
• stuffed animals, raw skins, hunting trophies.

Thus, we see that the list of controlled products covers practically all groups of food products. This, in turn, means that the number of companies working with Mercury will grow steadily.

Veterinary certificates in retail

Why do retail stores need Mercury?

The following operations can be performed with electronic VVD: only form, only “extinguish” or both form and “extinguish”. In this case, the VVD can be of a production or transport type.

As for retail companies, stores are required to work with incoming VSD. That is, your task will be to “redeem” the incoming certificates for each shipment.

What to look for when receiving products from suppliers?

If you have accepted the goods in part, then these discrepancies must be indicated at the time of redemption - in this case, the return VVD will be issued automatically.

One more important point- operations with VSD must be carried out within 1 working day after receiving the batch. Let's imagine that you have been brought a cargo for which the VSD is not registered in the "Mercury" system.

In this case, the only correct action on your part is to refuse to accept the cargo. The only exceptions here are deliveries accepted by paper VSD. In this case, you are required to pay off the paper IRR and capitalize the balances with an inventory.

What if there is no Internet access? What are the penalties for the absence of Mercury?

Is it possible to continue working with paper VSD if we do not have access to the Internet?

If you do not have technical restrictions for connecting to the Internet, then you cannot use paper IRR. The list of places where there is no access to the Internet is approved at the level of each constituent entity of the Russian Federation. If there are no such restrictions, then by July 1, 2018 you need to provide a connection to the network and start working in the Mercury retail system.

If you absolutely do not want to connect to the Internet, then the only possible option for compliance with the requirements of the regulator in this case is to provide access to the system to your supplier or a third-party organization, which will be “authorized” to work with the system “on behalf of your company”.

Organizations that do not have the technical ability to connect to the Internet, for example, shops in countryside in some regions of the country, they can continue to work with paper VSD.

What fines await an entrepreneur for the absence of "Mercury"?

Article 10.8 of the Administrative Code provides for a fine for non-compliance Federal law dated 07/13/2015 No. 243 - for the absence of an IRR, a fine follows. The measure of responsibility can be from 3,000 rubles. up to 10,000-20,000 rubles, while the amount of the fine depends on who it was issued for: a legal entity or an official.

Legal entities that have not complied with the requirements of the regulator may also face suspension of activities for 90 days. Currently, there are a number of legislative initiatives proposing changes in liability measures for non-compliance.

Read articles on food retail:

I told about the upcoming changes in registration of veterinary documentsfor food companies. Since 2016, the transition to electronic veterinary certificates is envisaged. Changes in the legislation provide for the introduction of batch accounting of the movement of raw materials and products within Russia. In this regard, in accounting for the movement of goods in 1C, it is necessary to additionally track a new dimension - the Veterinary Accompanying Document (VSD).

Purpose of the Mercury system: to ensure end-to-end accounting of the movement of raw materials and products in the context of batches (in terms of Mercury in the context of VSD and production dates) between all subjects on the territory of Russia and the Unified Customs Union (UTS).

To process all the necessary operations for enterprises, systems are used Argus, Mercury and Vesta... When conducting inspections and control over the work of enterprises, systems are used Cerberus and Cyrano... The system is indirectly involved Icarus(directory of companies).

All systems are built on a process approach - once entered information in one system is then used in another system. Duplication of information input is excluded.

Now we will consider only the work of the Mercury system, which is divided into several parts. Veterinarians work with the Mercury.GVE system. Enterprises operate in the Mercury.XC system. If the company independently draws up the Veterinary Accompanying Documents (VCD), then RosSelkhozNadzor will provide access to the Mercury.GVE system to the employees of the company.

The difference Mercury.GVE (State Veterinary Expertise) fromMercury.XC (Business Entity):

v Mercury.GVE it is possible to extinguish (receive) veterinary certificates and Incoming VSD

• sending information about Outgoing VSD to Mercury.

Mercury.XC is needed only for viewing data, active operations with Incoming and Outgoing VSD (except for internal operations) are impossible.

At manufacturing enterprises, certified specialists can work in the Mercury.GVE system, who can either be employed on the staff or turn to the services of a third-party company.

It should also be emphasized that the Mercury system ensures the maintenance of residuals in the context of measurements:

1. Products (corresponds to the entry from the TNVED code classifier),
2. Date of manufacture (presented as a specific date; interval; period description string)
3. VSD (link to veterinary document)

Accounting principles in Mercury:

1. Only some of the measurements cannot be entered.
2. Shipment minus is not allowed

Scheme of the work of the plant and the trading company in the Mercury system

Working with the Mercury system in production

List of operations:

1.Incoming raw materials

In Mercury, purchases of only veterinary-controlled raw materials are displayed.

Import clearance

1. Open the list of veterinary certificates

2. Find a veterinary certificate

3. Cancellation of the veterinary certificate

The cancellation procedure essentially means the receipt of the goods. If discrepancies are found in the veterinary certificate and the actual acceptance, it is possible to correct the date of manufacture, expiration date, quantity.

Purchase of raw materials on the territory of the ETS

The purchase operation is carried out through Transactions.

Laboratory research

Raw materials supplied to the plant must undergo laboratory tests. Based on the results of the study, a decision will be made on the use of raw materials for the production of products or on return to the supplier.

After taking samples for laboratory research, if the raw material is not returned to the warehouse or is not put into production, it must be discarded. For this, the capitalized quantity of raw materials is adjusted using Inventory.

The system provides for the possibility of combining several parcels into one batch. This may be necessary to simplify the write-off of raw materials for production. For example, it is possible to combine several goods receipts into one batch. As a result, in the accounting, several Incoming IRRs will be combined into one IRR, in the name of which all IRRs will be listed in the form of a line. This operation is irreversible. It is already possible to operate with only one batch.

2. Production of products

As a result of cancellation of veterinary certificates and incoming VSD raw material Input Products.

After the completion of the production operation, all produced production will accumulate in the log Manufactured products.

As a result, a situation may arise when out of 5 tons of controlled raw materials, 20 tons of controlled products will be produced.

To register a product release, you need to create a new Transaction.

The Transaction header indicates the manufacturer.

The Transaction Transaction lists a detailed list of raw materials, indicating the quantity that went into the production of a specific quantity of products.

My opinion. Factories may have questions:

• observance of commercial secrets, because in fact, the recipe for the production of products will be indicated in Mercury
• determination of raw materials consumption immediately after production, since in some cases, raw materials can be distributed after the fact of production in a few days
• the problem of correct determination of the Decommissioning Party before the fact of restoring the sequence.

3. Shipment of products

The shipment operation is completed using Transactions.

Rosselkhoznadzor / Mercury

federal service for veterinary and phytosanitary supervision

Territorial administrations ... TU for the Altai Territory and the Altai Republic TU for the Amur Region TU for the Belgorod Region TU for the Bryansk and Smolensk Regions TU for the Vladimir Region TU for the Voronezh and Lipetsk Regions TU for Moscow, the Moscow and Tula regions TU for the Zabaikalsky Territory TU for the Irkutsk region and the Republic of Buryatia TU for the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic and the Republic of North Ossetia - Alania TU for the Kaliningrad region TU for the Kaluga region TU for the Kamchatka Territory and Chukotka AO TU for the Kirov region and the Udmurt Republic TU for the Kostroma and Ivanovo regions TU for the Krasnodar Territory and the Republic of Adygea TU for the Krasnoyarsk Territory TU for the Kurgan region TU for the Magadan region TU for the Murmansk region TU for the Nizhny Novgorod region and the Mari El Republic TU for the Novgorod and Vologda regions TU for the Novosibirsk region TU for the Omsk region TU for the Orenburg region TU for the Oryol and Kursk regions TU for the Perm Territory TU for the Primorsky Territory and the Sakhalin Region TU for the Republics of Khakassia and Tyva and the Kemerovo Region TU for the Republic of Bashkortostan TU for the Republic of Dagestan TU for the Republic of Ingushetia TU for the Republic of Karelia, Arkhangelsk Region and Nenetsky JSC TU for the Republic of Komi TU for the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol TU for the Republic of Mordovia and the Penza region TU for the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) TU for the Republic of Tatarstan TU for Rostov, Volgograd and Astrakhan regions and the Republic of Kalmykia TU for Ryazan and Tambov regions TU for the Samara region TU for St. Petersburg, the Leningrad and Pskov regions TU for the Saratov region TU for the Sverdlovsk region TU for the Stavropol Territory and the Karachay-Cherkess Republic TU for the Tver region TU for the Tomsk region TU for the Tyumen region, Yamalo-Nenets and Khanty-Mansiysk a. O. TU for the Khabarovsk Territory and the Jewish Autonomous Region TU for the Chelyabinsk Region TU for the Chechen Republic TU for the Chuvash Republic and Ulyanovsk Region TU for the Yaroslavl Region

Purpose of the automated system "Mercury"

Automated system Mercury is intended for electronic certification of goods supervised by the State Veterinary Inspectorate, tracking the path of their movement across the territory Russian Federation in order to create a unified information environment for veterinary medicine, improve biological and food safety.

General structure

The automated system "Mercury" consists of the following subsystems:

• Subsystem Temporary storage.
• Subsystem State Veterinary Expertise.
• Subsystem Business entity.
• Subsystem Territorial administration.
• Subsystem Notifications.
• Subsystem.

Scheme of work with the automated system "Mercury"

On this moment the system "Mercury" is implemented only as a web application, i.e. to work with it you need access to the Internet. The work is carried out using a regular web browser (browser), for example Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and others. Thus, the user does not need to install anything at his workplace to work in the automated system "Mercury".

To enter the required subsystem, the user must type the address in the address bar of the browser and go through the authentication procedure. To do this, he must enter his username and password, given to him during registration in the system.

Access addresses to subsystems of the automated system "Mercury"

• Subsystem Temporary Storage Warehouse (Mercury.CVH)
  https://mercury.vetrf.ru/svh
• Subsystem State Veterinary Expertise (Mercury.GVE)
  https://mercury.vetrf.ru/gve
• Subsystem Business entity (Mercury.XC)
  https://mercury.vetrf.ru/hs
• Subsystem Territorial Administration (Mercury.TU)
  https://mercury.vetrf.ru/tu
• Subsystem Notifications (Mercury.Notifications)
  https://mercury.vetrf.ru/notification/
• Subsystem authentication of issued VSD
  http://mercury.vetrf.ru/pub
• Universal Gateway (Vetis.API)
  http://help.vetrf.ru/wiki/Vetis.API

Providing access to the system "Mercury"

For employees of the veterinary service and employees of the Rosselkhoznadzor

Access to the FSIS is provided by submitting an electronic application using the Vetis.Passport system.

Acquainted with new system roles and the new procedure for registering users in FSIS VETIS, please follow the link -

For business entities

Registration with the FSIS is carried out in accordance with the Order of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation of December 27, 2016 No. 589 as follows:

For the organization

Registration of authorized persons of organizations is carried out by sending an application:

• in writing on the letterhead of the organization signed by its head (deputy head) to the FSIS operator or to its territorial department;
• or in the form of an electronic document signed by the electronic signature of the head (deputy head) of the organization, sent by e-mail.

The application must contain the data specified in clauses 6 and 10 of the Order of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation dated December 27, 2016 No. 589.

For individual entrepreneurs

Registration of individual entrepreneurs is carried out by sending an application:

• v writing by mail to one of the territorial departments of the FSIS operator or submitting an application personally to one of the territorial departments of the FSIS operator;
• or in electronic form via the information and telecommunication network "Internet" to the address Email FSIS operator: [email protected] temporarily unavailable. Send letters to the address.

The application must contain the data specified in clauses 6 and 12 of the Order of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation dated December 27, 2016 No. 589.

Link to the Order of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation of December 27, 2016 No. 589 - http://help.vetrf.ru/images/d/dd/Prikaz589_20161227.pdf.

Application templates are posted on the link - Administration of the list of users of a business entity in Vetis.Passport.

Technical requirements for work in the system "Mercury"

Technical requirements to the automated workstation of users of the system "Mercury" can be viewed.

Escort and support

For all technical questions related to the operation of the "Mercury" system, you can contact the following address:.

If there is a technical problem, please describe in the letter its essence, indicate the actions that led to its occurrence, as well as the name and version of the Internet browser and operating system used.

You can also send your suggestions and wishes for the development of the automated system "Mercury" to this address.

Training to work with the automated system "Mercury"

Video course

You can independently familiarize yourself with the work in the Mercury system using the video course posted at the link - http://www.vetrf.ru/vetrf/presentations/.

In this video course, the order of work in the system is considered - the processes of acceptance, production and shipment of products at the enterprise.

Webinar training

After a preliminary acquaintance with the system, self-study the basics and order of work in the system, it is possible to organize a video conference remotely via an Internet connection via Skype program free of charge (free of charge). The purpose of such a videoconference is to resolve issues that have arisen after independent study of the material.

The videoconference can be held both for the staff of veterinary services and for business entities.

To conduct a videoconference, a free-form application is submitted to the address technical support.

The application indicates:

• login-skype;
• the estimated number of participants;
• desired date of the webinar and convenient time (Moscow time);
• contact person, phone numbers.

Then, after receiving the application, the technical support staff will agree on the date and time of the video conference.

Sections of the article

With this article, we begin to introduce our readers to the problems of automated systems developed and promoted by the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision (Rosselkhoznadzor).

At the moment, Rosselkhoznadzor is developing a whole complex computer programs required for a qualitative improvement in the current situation in the Russian Federation and ensuring the modern level of biological food safety. Moreover, the introduction of such new solutions will make it possible to improve and optimize the methods that the Rosselkhoznadzor itself and the State Veterinary Service are now using in their work.

Currently, most of the programs in question have been completed and are being successfully tested. Moreover, 13 of them are in working order and are actively used in practice. According to Nikolai Vlasov, deputy head of the Rosselkhoznadzor, such a large complex of software products is necessary to create a convenient digital environment that ensures biological food safety and comfortable work of the veterinary service throughout the country.

Product traceability system

Several decades ago, two large organizations - the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the International Bureau of Epizootics, joined forces to form a simple, understandable and convenient principle of controlling the entire production chain. He traces products from the field in which a particular product is grown to the very counter of the store where it is sold. This system takes into account absolutely all the nuances, from the selection of fertilizers for specific plants or animal feed, to quality control of milk or meat on store shelves.

This mechanism is called product traceability. In other words, it allows you to accurately track the entire chain of growing plants or animals, their nutrition, the conditions for their growth, as well as all subsequent stages necessary for the production of a finished product of plant or animal origin. This means that even taking an ordinary piece of meat in a store, you can quickly and accurately determine which animal it belonged to, in what conditions it was kept, how it was processed and stored.

Of course, for the competent implementation of such a mechanism at each stage of production, you need to have convenient mechanisms for determining the location of the product, tracking all routes of its transportation, processing methods, and so on. At the same time, it should be possible to learn absolutely everything about a product at any stage of its movement from the field to the counter. It is obvious that the practical implementation of such a system is not an easy task, but, nevertheless, absolutely all civilized countries preferred it, and there are many reasons for this. Here are just a few of them:

• Reliable protection against counterfeit and low-quality products of unknown origin hitting the store shelves.
• Convenient control over the level of food in the country, allowing timely regulation of the agricultural sector.
• Effective fight against corruption among supervisory authorities.
• The ability to deal with fraud in the field.
• Minimizing bureaucracy and providing a convenient transparent mechanism for comfortable work private business.

It is obvious that an analogue of this system should be present in every country, including Russia. Moreover, modern solutions and capabilities already allow you to implement it. However, product manufacturers themselves across the country have split into two completely opposite camps. Some are totally “for” such changes and the introduction of such a promising and easy-to-use mechanism, while others are categorically opposed. However, it is obvious that it is precisely those entrepreneurs who do not conduct their business honestly and produce insufficiently high-quality products that resist, because then strict and impartial control will put an end to their business, or at least require major changes in the usual and well-established working mechanism ...

Nevertheless, the control system itself will improve the health of people, expand the range of products, improve their quality and increase the welfare of entrepreneurs who honestly and responsibly engage in this difficult business. That is why Rosselkhoznadzor is the only organization in the country that invests enormous efforts and resources in the implementation of a complete and high-quality world-class traceability system.

Their goal is to create such conditions under which it will be possible to freely take any product of animal origin at any stage of its circulation and without any problems obtain any information about it, from the source of raw materials, for production, to retail outlets where it is sold. Moreover, if, for example, a problem arose on the farm and the cows were poisoned by poor-quality feed, then using this system, you can quickly track all the stores to which the milk went, in order to remove it from sale and protect the health of people.

Veterinary certificate as the main traceability element

It is veterinary certificates that are the basis on which traceability systems are based around the world. In fact, this document has much in common with an ordinary passport of any person, because without it we cannot do practically anything in society - neither find a job, nor leave somewhere. It is to control the transportation of products that veterinary certificates are needed, because without them, goods cannot go outside the country or even to another region.

If we talk about Russia, then the classic service of veterinary control and certification is archaic, paid and completely impartial. It is destroyed by corruption, the need to comply with a mass of unnecessary bureaucratic formalities and a strong dependence on resources. As a result, such a system is inconvenient both for the producers of goods and for the state itself, but worst of all, it poses a potential danger to the end consumer of the products.

Several million paper certificates are issued in the country every year. This is a huge waste of resources and time, but it does not guarantee any product quality at all. With the help of these documents, it is purely physically impossible to trace the entire path of goods from the field to the counter.

Suppose a shipment of contraband meat is imported into the country. There is no information about it, but there is a high probability that it was produced in violation of the norms, since otherwise it would have simply been imported with official permission without the slightest problem. Further, on the territory of the country, with the help of a corrupt veterinarian, this meat is officially registered, then it is sent to other regions, where the batch is divided, and each part of it receives new certificates. This is how such counterfeit products are legalized.

Existing reporting forms, despite their high cost and security, can be easily counterfeited with some effort. For example, you can freely delete information printed by a laser printer, and then reuse this form for your own purposes.

In fact, no additional effort is needed at this time to distribute illegal products. To do this, you don't even need to look for any loopholes in the legislation, since now far from all products you need to issue a veterinary certificate. For example, milk is subject to certification, but butter made from the same milk is no longer there. A very large percentage of finished products are not tested, and additional additives are quite officially mixed into them. In the production of oil, palm oil, which is harmful to health, is very often used, which has a low cost, and allows you to get a huge volume of finished low-quality goods from a small amount of starting materials.

The automated system "Mercury" from the Rosselkhoznadzor as a solution to the problem

Most of the countries have long been engaged in the full automation of not only production, but also its accounting. Manual labor cannot bring such results, because this approach completely excludes the possibility of unintentional mistakes or deception. Moreover, process automation speeds up the work process and makes the mechanism simple and transparent for all its participants.

In the field of veterinary certification, such innovations are simply necessary, according to employees of the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Control. Moreover, they are already implementing such changes in practice and, with the support of the Rosselkhoznadzor, have assembled a team of experienced programmers who have created a unique and unparalleled system called "Mercury". It will allow you to completely abandon the use of paper certificates and implement a convenient and modern system product traceability throughout the country.

The program began to be developed by the Rosselkhoznadzor in 2009, and was originally intended for the electronic certification of various goods, and further fixing their location on the territory of Russia and abroad.

In fact, with the help of this program, an electronic database will be created. Only authorized users will be able to enter it, moreover, all of them will provide detailed information about themselves, and their actions will be saved and in real time it will be possible to track any changes made by each of them. At the same time, paper certificates will completely go down in history and give way to their more progressive digital counterparts.

It should be noted that the Mercury system successfully works with other programs developed by Rosselkhoznadzor specialists, such as Vesta or Argus. All this makes it possible to form a single information space in the field of food safety and veterinary medicine in the country. It provides a lot of advantages, among which you should pay attention to:

• The ability to trace all products throughout the entire production path.
• Forms fair competition in which everyone will be in the same conditions.
• Will help protect consumers from substandard products.
• Will root out corruption and eliminate the costs associated with it.
• It will allow you to easily control the entire process for regulatory and supervisory authorities.
• It will help save all participants in the chain, because now the cost of paperwork and other issues will decrease.

If we talk separately about the Mercury program itself, then it sets itself a number of goals, which should include:

• Saving time for obtaining all official permits for the transport of food goods.
• Complete automation of all processes and documentation.
• Automatic accounting of all products, both received and left from a particular enterprise.
• Creation of convenient mechanisms for accurate tracking of the location of cargo on the territory of Russia, even after dividing it into small consignments.
• Reducing the cost of veterinary certification by reducing the number of people involved in the process and eliminating costly physical forms altogether.
• Elimination of the human factor and related errors.
• Formation of a transparent database that makes it easy to analyze this or that information.

Who and how works in the Mercury system?

There are several modules in the system for the separate work of state, veterinary inspectors of the Rosselkhoznadzor, and regional veterinary departments of the country. It is they who supervise all food cargoes entering the territory of Russia and moving within its borders.

In order to understand how the entire system functions, it is worth imagining the following situation. Suppose that 200 kilograms of fish from Bulgaria arrived in Moscow by air delivery. This cargo is addressed to the "Vector" company located in the Vladimir region. The very permission to import the product was issued at the Domodedovo airport, at the local border checkpoint. This was done using the Argus system included in common network software products of the Rosselkhoznadzor.

The next step for the cargo is to get it to a special temporary storage warehouse, where Rosselkhoznadzor inspectors inspect it and reissue all documents. In parallel with this, information about the current position of the fish is reflected in the "Mercury" program. There, the inspector enters the name of the cargo, its weight and volume, production date, expiration date, and also describes such moments as the next destination of the cargo, and provides permission for its free implementation.

The most interesting thing is that the next stage of verification is automatic, and Mercury performs its program on its own. After full coordination of all points and confirmation of the accuracy of the information entered, the cargo is sent for sanitary and veterinary control, where experts decide on its quality and suitability for use and sale.

In the event that the cargo raises any suspicions from the inspector, he can take a sample and send it to the laboratory for analysis. The act for these actions is issued in another Rosselkhoznadzor program, called Vesta. Since all software products connected, then the experts' answer will come and be displayed not only in the Vesta system, but also in Mercury.

If there are no questions about the cargo, then an act of sanitary and veterinary examination is drawn up on the spot. The "Mercury" system checks all the information and makes a decision on the passage of the cargo. Then the inspector agrees with him and draws up a new veterinary passport. Here the Rosselkhoznadzor specialists complete their part of the work and transfer the initiative into the hands of the employees of the state veterinary service. For them, the system has its own module called "State Veterinary Expertise".

They inspect imported products after they arrive at a particular enterprise. Inside the system, they receive all current information about it, verify and confirm it. Then they transfer the information to another special journal, in which all subsequent actions with the cargo will be recorded. At the same time, tracking will work even if a large batch needs to be divided into smaller ones in order to send it to points of sale. In this case, the veterinarian will need to complete the transactions.

These transactions imply any action with the cargo, be it transportation, processing or sale. All information is entered into a special form, up to the type and number of transport on which the transportation will be carried out and to the addresses of specific stores where the goods will be sold. Additionally, the volume of the goods is indicated, so that later you can identify forgery or fraud. As a result of all these actions, a special veterinary accompanying document is formed, which can be printed on any ordinary office paper, because all its protection is based on the presence of a special bar code and an additional identifier, with which you can get all the information about a specific product in the system.

Automated system Mercury in food production

According to a similar, but somewhat more simplified principle, documents for domestic products are drawn up in the system. As a result, the program contains information about all stages of production, from the place where animals are raised, their quantity, feed used for them, to places for slaughter, warehouses where meat is stored, enterprises where it is processed and shops where it is sold. ...

What is important, at each stage, a separate certificate is created, which allows you to form a direct chain electronic documents, by which it will be possible to trace the product to any stage of its production. Because of this, counterfeit products will simply not be able to be entered into the system, and therefore sold, having received a profit from it.

At the moment, there are situations in which some dairy plant received a ton of milk and produced three tons of butter. This is due to the fact that milk is subject to certification, but products from it are not. At the same time, it is simply impossible to find out the exact volumes of finished products. Using a control system such as Mercury, this simply will not happen, because all interested parties, including the end user, can see all the information about the product.

Control over the harvest of aquatic biological resources is a good example. Suppose that in one of the regions fishing is prohibited for some reason. In this case, the system contains information about this, and it is simply impossible to obtain a certificate for such products and put them into circulation.

How is Mercury useful for ordinary buyers?

Let's say you visited a store and purchased cottage cheese. Further, you made cheese cakes from it and soon realized that you were poisoned. If the cottage cheese is issued through paper certificates, it is really difficult to find out where it was brought from, almost impossible. If we talk about the control of "Mercury", then on the packaging of the goods there is a special bar code with which you can at any time and yourself find out all the information on the manufacturer and the goods. Of course, this will help the Rosselkhoznadzor employees find the source of the problem, punish the guilty and, which is very important, promptly withdraw the entire batch from sale, saving the health of other people.

All electronic documents are processed only on the basis of older and existing documents in the system. This creates a chain of digital documents that cannot be faked.

Why hasn't Mercury been introduced everywhere yet?

Obviously, the use of Mercury will become a real problem for many dishonest manufacturers, and therefore they do their best to prevent the introduction of this system. However, they are not alone against such an initiative. Regional veterinary services are also often against, because with the new mechanism of interaction, they will not be able to draw up documents for money. Moreover, they are simply not ready and do not want to switch to a new, unusual electronic system, in which they need to understand.

Fortunately, the Mercury development team is training specialists using a variety of different methods starting with the organization of videoconferences for individuals or entire groups, ending with the direct arrival of employees to undergo advanced training courses. They also conduct offsite training sessions. Moreover, even now it is possible to undergo training in the veterinary committee of the city of Moscow, which actively participated in the development of the Mercury system. Also, the entire Vladimir region has integrated the system into its work, and local specialists are training young personnel.

Advantages and prospects of a multilevel traceability system

Rosselkhoznadzor has come a long way and achieved the implementation of a product traceability system in Russia. The issuance of electronic certificates is already a reality. Nevertheless, this is only the beginning and there are still a lot of important tasks ahead. The next stage will be the establishment of work in the field of electronic veterinary certification and interaction with large supplier countries, which will bring the issue of traceability to the international level.

At the moment, the whole cycle electronic control begins with the checkpoints of goods at the border. But this path can be expanded and brought directly to foreign manufacturers with whom Russia cooperates. Thus, it will be possible to completely exclude the possibility of transporting counterfeit products, smuggling under the guise of registered products. If, even before arriving at the border, it is known about the arrival of some specific goods, then the process of customs control will be simpler and faster.

Of course, integrating Mercury is proposed to countries with an underdeveloped sphere of internal traceability and product control. If we talk about countries that already have their own system, the convenience of work will consist in mutual support and integration of these two specific systems. The developers of the Mercury system are actively in contact with foreign IT specialists and agree to carry out integration work. At the moment, there are also first successes in this direction, as mutual cooperation has been established with New Zealand.

Mercury is on guard for quality products!

The Mercury system has a complex structure, on the implementation of which highly qualified professionals have worked for many years. And even now, when the program is working successfully, they are constantly improving and developing it in order to make product control more perfect.

Rosselkhoznadzor employees hope that their work will make the traceability system convenient and inevitable. With the help of the Mercury system, every year the work will become much easier for all respectable producers and consumers, and the control over the entire turnover will be stricter and more accurate. Of course, this will have a positive effect on the standard of living of all residents of the country.