Russian officials have refused to allow entry of 5,000 cups
of Chobani yogourt intended to nourish United States athletes at the Olympics
in Sochi.
Chobani has decided now to donate the shipment to food banks
in New York and New Jersey.
Meanwhile, Chobani ads continue to run with NBC television
coverage of the games.
The
shipment has been held up in a refrigerated warehouse at New Jersey's Newark
Liberty International Airport after Russian authorities said the U.S.
Department of Agriculture failed to provide a necessary certificate under its
customs rules.
U.S.
Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat and a big booster of the state's
Greek yogurt industry, had pointed out that export trade rules shouldn't apply
since the yogurt was only for U.S. athletes and wouldn't have been for sale.
But Russia still wouldn't allow the shipment.
