NEW YORK – Reuters reports that Deputy PM Arkady Dvorkovich, a senior Russian government member, told reporters that any food production in the country will completely exclude genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

"As far as genetically modified organisms are concerned, we have made decision not to use any GMO in food productions," Dvorkovich said.

In February 2014, Reuters says that Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev ordered the creation of a national research base for GMOs to provide expert information. He also warned against perceiving GMO products as "absolute evil," but said that the government did not support the use of GMOs in the food industry.

According to official statistics, notes Reuters, the share of GMOs in the Russian food industry has declined from 12% to just 0.01% over the past 10 years, and currently there are just 57 registered food products containing GMOs in the country. The law ordering obligatory state registration of GMO products that might contact with the environment will take effect in mid-2017.