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When I read this I was like you gotta be kidding me..Apparently NYtimes had no better stories to wirte:
It was only a matter of time before two of the world’s superpowers clashed over a protein-rich dairy product.
The Russian government is said to be blocking a shipment of Chobani yogurt from reaching the United States Olympic team at the Winter Olympics in Sochi.
The blockade has prompted alarm from the yogurt industry’s political allies, who are outraged that American athletes could be deprived of their beloved Greek yogurt.
The Russian government, according to United States officials, is not permitting the yogurt to enter Russia without a special certification.
At first a breakfast-table squabble, the dairy situation is quickly escalating.
The Obama administration has intervened, seeking to clear the way for the yogurt delivery. A United States senator fired off a stern letter to the Russian ambassador, asking for his assistance.
American officials are hoping to receive a special dispensation from the Russian agency Rosselkhoznadzor – the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance — whose jurisdiction apparently includes American-made Greek yogurt.
Yogurt production is a booming business in upstate New York, a place that does not have many booming businesses. The state’s politicians have been eager to promote the industry.
In this case, Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, is taking up the cause.
“There is simply no time to waste in getting our Olympic athletes a nutritious and delicious food,” Mr. Schumer said in a statement.
Asking for the blockade to be lifted, Mr. Schumer added that when it comes to yogurt, “The Russian authorities should get past ‘nyet.'”
Chobani is the official yogurt of the United States Olympic team, and in the run-up to Sochi, its products were made available to athletes at Olympic training centers in the United States.
For the Olympics, the company had planned to send single-serve cups of blueberry, strawberry and peach yogurt, along with larger containers of plain yogurt that can be used to make smoothies.
The yogurt in question is presently being stored in a temperature-controlled facility near Newark Liberty International Airport, awaiting a green light from Russian officials.
In a statement, Chobani said it was grateful for Mr. Schumer’s intervention.
“This is a time when the focus should be on our athletes,” the company said, “so we’re just trying to do right by them in getting food they enjoy from home.”
There was no immediate word on Wednesday about the fate of the yogurt. Mr. Schumer’s office said the Russian ambassador, Sergey I. Kislyak, had not responded to his letter, and the Russian embassy in Washington did not return a phone message.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/06/n...gurt-shipment-from-reaching-us-olympians.html
It was only a matter of time before two of the world’s superpowers clashed over a protein-rich dairy product.
The Russian government is said to be blocking a shipment of Chobani yogurt from reaching the United States Olympic team at the Winter Olympics in Sochi.
The blockade has prompted alarm from the yogurt industry’s political allies, who are outraged that American athletes could be deprived of their beloved Greek yogurt.
The Russian government, according to United States officials, is not permitting the yogurt to enter Russia without a special certification.
At first a breakfast-table squabble, the dairy situation is quickly escalating.
The Obama administration has intervened, seeking to clear the way for the yogurt delivery. A United States senator fired off a stern letter to the Russian ambassador, asking for his assistance.
American officials are hoping to receive a special dispensation from the Russian agency Rosselkhoznadzor – the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance — whose jurisdiction apparently includes American-made Greek yogurt.
Yogurt production is a booming business in upstate New York, a place that does not have many booming businesses. The state’s politicians have been eager to promote the industry.
In this case, Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, is taking up the cause.
“There is simply no time to waste in getting our Olympic athletes a nutritious and delicious food,” Mr. Schumer said in a statement.
Asking for the blockade to be lifted, Mr. Schumer added that when it comes to yogurt, “The Russian authorities should get past ‘nyet.'”
Chobani is the official yogurt of the United States Olympic team, and in the run-up to Sochi, its products were made available to athletes at Olympic training centers in the United States.
For the Olympics, the company had planned to send single-serve cups of blueberry, strawberry and peach yogurt, along with larger containers of plain yogurt that can be used to make smoothies.
The yogurt in question is presently being stored in a temperature-controlled facility near Newark Liberty International Airport, awaiting a green light from Russian officials.
In a statement, Chobani said it was grateful for Mr. Schumer’s intervention.
“This is a time when the focus should be on our athletes,” the company said, “so we’re just trying to do right by them in getting food they enjoy from home.”
There was no immediate word on Wednesday about the fate of the yogurt. Mr. Schumer’s office said the Russian ambassador, Sergey I. Kislyak, had not responded to his letter, and the Russian embassy in Washington did not return a phone message.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/06/n...gurt-shipment-from-reaching-us-olympians.html
