Current restrictions on frozen chicken would only expand next year to ban its use for manufacturing “best quality” foods, he said after talks with European Union trade experts, reports The St. Petersburg Times, citing RIA-Novosti.

A market source and an official said Saturday that the new restrictions would ban manufacturers from using frozen chicken in products unless they subject these products to heat treatment afterward, Interfax reported.

Frozen chicken currently cannot be an ingredient in baby food and diet food, Onishchenko said. He warned earlier this month that the authorities would halt sales of frozen chicken next year in a move that could hurt domestic suppliers and imports, including from the United States.

The measure was to spur the sales of chilled chicken, which Onishchenko said was healthier. He said Friday that the authorities wanted chilled chicken to account for 75 per cent of the market next year, up from 60 per cent this year.