MOSCOW, Russia - Russia's food safety watchdog has burned 1.5 tonnes of food imported for a BMW racing team taking part in a touring car event in Moscow, TASS news agency reported on Thursday (August 27).
The destruction was part of Moscow's programme of burning and bulldozing Western food, banned from Russia in retaliation for sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine.
FOOD MEANT FOR BMW'S DTM TEAM
TASS quoted food watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor as saying: "The department decided to impound goods at the checkpoint due to gross violation of sanitary rules."
The food was destroyed by officials in the Pskov region, about 700km north-west of Moscow. It was being delivered for the BMW team in a German-based series of circuit races called DTM, whose Moscow stage starts on Friday (August 28).
RT @guardian Russia destroys 1.5 tonnes of food meant for BMW car racing team http://t.co/Q9q3AXuHof pic.twitter.com/ViBIYodoYm
— The Language Class (@thelanguageclas) August 28, 2015
On Wednesday (August 26), Russian authorities had already destroyed nearly 800kg of food found in a car that was transporting equipment for the race.
The food-destroying programme started in early August 2015, outraging many people in a country where poverty is increasing.