NY senator seeks release of Sochi yogurt shipment

Estimated read time: Less than a minute

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer of New York is calling on the Russian government to allow Chobani Greek yogurt to be delivered to Sochi (SOH'-chee) for U.S. Olympic athletes and NBC Studios employees.

Schumer said Tuesday that a shipment of Chobani yogurt is being held up at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey because of "unattainable" Russian Customs certifications. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has requested that Russia approve a USDA safety certificate for the yogurt, but Schumer said Russia still won't allow the shipment.

Chobani, based in upstate New York, is an official sponsor of the U.S. Olympic team. Schumer said the yogurt will be eaten only by U.S. citizens in Sochi.

A call to Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak's press office wasn't immediately returned.