After 15 years of hesitation, Moscow's main baked goods distributor is set to put something between Russians and their bread.


Moskhleb, which supplies half the city's bread, will begin slipping paper bags around the seven tons of white batons that change hands in Moscow every day. As of Jan. 1, 2 1/2 tons of the bread will come partially sealed for hygienic purposes, and the company says it hopes to boost that amount gradually over the next three years.


Although Moskhleb aims eventually to buy the bags locally, for now they are shipped in from Germany, since they cost less than any available in Russia, said Oleg Mkrtychyan of Upakkhleb, the company overseeing the project.


Like any self-respecting capitalist venture, the bags are emblazoned with the slogan of a corporate sponsor: the Russian Grocers' Bank, which promises that "The Morning Will Be Brighter!" The bank subsidy cuts the bag's wholesale cost to the factory from 105 rubles (3 cents) apiece to 65 rubles, Mkrtychyan said.


When the first pre-bagged batons go on sale at the New Year, Moskhleb will finally be putting into practice a strategy it has been fine-tuning since the late 1970s, said Moskhleb Director Mikhail Skovalenko.


The company's reservations centered on the necessary price hike, which will add as much as 15 percent to one of the country's cheapest food staples. Since bread is still subsidized by the government, the current price for a baton is about 700 rubles.


Bagging will cost the factories, too, with the low end of automatic machines priced at $200,000. So, paradoxically, all bagging will be done by hand for the time being.


Despite these obstacles and the "psychological barriers" that might alienate Russian buyers, Skovalenko said bagging the bread was "absolutely the right system," since it keeps bread fresh longer and guarantees hygiene.


"There's the danger of diphtheria, and cholera, and God knows what. People come into the store and they breathe," Skovalenko said. "Then, they take it in their hands and hold onto it while they walk out of the store. Theoretically, their hands are clean, but in reality, who knows?"


Moskhleb representatives stressed that the new packaging is still experimental, and they would carefully examine consumer reaction to the move. Several factories and about 16 Moscow bread stores have already tested the new method, offering packaged bread alongside the normal unwrapped loaves.


"Some people protest strongly, and say they can bring their own bags if they need them, but others react normally," said Vera Borisova, head of Bread Factory No. 22. "I think that's natural. This kind of packaging is not in our culture."


Natalya Markhina, who runs Bread Store No. 646 in northern Moscow, said customer feedback, to date, has not been overwhelming either way. Some customers have complained that the opaque packaging material hides the bread from view, she said."People are used to being able to see their bread, and I cannot guarantee anything. We never see it."


Outside Bread Store No. 646, most customers said they supported the move, but some -- especially elderly pensioners -- said the price hike would put one of Moscow's last affordable food staples a little further out of reach.


"We are used to being able to buy bread," said Anna Pavlova, 73, who gets by on a 140,000-ruble ($40) monthly pension and carried her own plastic bag to the store. "Even when we didn't have much broth, we had bread. Now I can barely afford that."