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- Sweet and nasty: Dubai chocolate will be tested for counterfeit and dangerous ingredients
Sweet and nasty: Dubai chocolate will be tested for counterfeit and dangerous ingredients
Dubai Chocolate will be checked for counterfeiting and the presence of dangerous ingredients. Social activists have made such a request to Rospotrebnadzor, as well as to the State Commission for Combating Illicit Trafficking in Industrial Products. The product is sold in large quantities and at a low price in the Russian Federation, and the very first control purchase revealed violations of technical regulations — the lack of mandatory information in Russian about the manufacturer, importer, storage conditions, nutritional value, as well as about the components, the use of which can cause allergic reactions (nuts, etc.).
Why "Dubai chocolate" may be a fake
Public activists have taken the initiative to stop the sale and withdraw from circulation suspiciously cheap "Dubai chocolate", which is massively sold both online and in stationary retail in Russia. Oleg Pavlov, the head of the Public Consumer Initiative (OPI), who also heads the public council under Rospotrebnadzor, made such a request to Rospotrebnadzor, as well as to the First Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the State Commission for Combating Illicit Trafficking in Industrial Products Denis Manturov.
Dubai Chocolate was invented by Sarah Hamouda, a British woman of Egyptian origin, in 2021 as a result of experiments to create a crunchy dessert with elements of oriental sweets. He began to gain great popularity in 2024, becoming very fashionable in Europe. It consists of dark or milk chocolate and a dense sweet filling of knafé and tahini. Knafé is an Arabic sweet made from noodles and goat cheese, and tahini is a thick paste made from ground sesame seeds. Dubai chocolate's popularity increased in 2024 after viral videos on social media garnered millions of views. To date, the standard of the popular Dubai delicacy is Fix brand chocolate. On the website of Fix Dessert Chocolatier, which was created by Sarah Hamuda, its cost starts from 68.25 dirhams per tile (about 1.5 thousand rubles).
In a document that Izvestia has, the social activist reports on a study conducted by the OPI on the so-called Dubai chocolate, which is now widely sold both in non-chain retail and on the Internet. According to him, the price of imported goods in Russia varies from 199 rubles for 40 g, 351 rubles for 75 g and up to 622 rubles for 130 g.
"As a result of the control purchase and monitoring, it was found that a significant part of the chocolate samples do not meet the mandatory requirements of the technical regulations TR CU 022/2011 (Food products in terms of their labeling). Typical violations are the lack of mandatory information in Russian about the manufacturer, importer, storage conditions, food additives, nutritional value, as well as ingredients whose use may cause allergic reactions (nuts, etc.), etc.," the appeal says.
In addition, such a product may be dangerous to the health of Russians, according to public figures. The document provides open research data from German scientists who in 2024 analyzed their market for "Dubai chocolate", supplied mainly from third countries (Jordan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates). In total, experts examined 38 samples, more than half of which were found to be violated, and nine were declared unsafe.
"In addition to the obvious violations of mandatory consumer information requirements, scientists from Germany have documented the detection of harmful additives and pollutants in Dubai chocolate: 3-monochloropropanediol (3-MCPD), glycidyl esters of fatty acids, mold toxins, carcinogens, etc.," the appeal says.
According to the head of the OPI, the sale of such goods not only indicates illegal production and import, but also creates risks of harm to the life and health of citizens. He asks to study the attached materials and take measures to suspend the sale of illegal products and withdraw them from circulation, as well as to bring the perpetrators to justice as prescribed by law.
— Mandatory labeling of confectionery products could be one of the elements of control over such products. With its help, it would be possible to quickly identify both illegal products and illegal sellers, as well as block the sale of such goods," Oleg Pavlov explained to Izvestia.
"At the moment, the appeal has not been received. Upon receipt, this appeal, like any other, will be considered in accordance with the procedure established by law, and a response will be sent to the applicant. However, it is worth noting that this is not the most pressing problem of the consumer market, which a public organization could pay attention to and offer solutions in the interests of a really wide range of consumers," the press service of the first Deputy Prime Minister told Izvestia.
The editorial board sent a request to Rospotrebnadzor with a request to clarify whether an audit will be conducted on the appeal of the public figure, as well as whether the measures proposed by him are supported. Izvestia also contacted the Association of Retail Companies (ACORT) and online retail stores with a request to comment on the situation with the sale of Dubai chocolate.
Wildberries told Izvestia that they pay special attention to the safety and quality of the products presented on the platform. By accepting the offer, sellers confirm the full compliance of the goods with all the norms of the legislation of the Russian Federation and the countries of presence, as well as the rules of the site, the marketplace's press service reported.
According to the document, sellers must reflect full information about the consumer properties of the product in its card and provide the necessary documents, depending on the product category, to prove its compliance with mandatory requirements, the company added.
— The duty to carry out certification and declaration of conformity is legally assigned to manufacturers and importers of goods, who determine the need to undergo these procedures and ensure compliance with safety requirements, — Wildberries emphasized. — The consumer can study all the information reflected in the product card and has the right to contact the seller on all issues, including requesting the provision of all relevant documents confirming the safety of the products.
Not enough responsibility
Pavel Shapkin, Chairman of the National Consumer Rights Protection Union, cited the lack of regulation of responsibility for its sale on the Internet, as well as a moratorium on business inspections, among the reasons for the mass sale of products that do not meet Russian requirements.
— If we talk about marketplaces, the legislation does not yet specify who should be blamed for violations in such online commerce: the pick-up point or the seller. I assume that such a product is also present in non—chain retail, but not in large retail chains, but in small-scale trade or in wholesale markets where there is no electronic accounting system," the expert explained.
According to him, this applies not only to Dubai chocolate, but also to other imported goods. They can also be imported to Russia legally when the seller buys them on foreign online trading platforms such as AliExpress. However, the sale of such goods in Russia is already illegal, Pavel Shapkin noted.
According to Article 14.43 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation, violation by the manufacturer, performer (a person performing the functions of a foreign manufacturer), seller of the requirements of technical regulations threatens with fines for entrepreneurs without forming a legal entity up to 30 thousand rubles, for legal entities — up to 300 thousand rubles. If harm is caused to life and health, the punishment for sole proprietors will increase to 40 thousand. rubles with confiscation of administrative offense items, and for legal entities — up to 600 thousand rubles.
— The substances found in Dubai chocolate by German scientists are primarily carcinogenic. This means that people who consume it in large quantities have a risk of cancer," Larisa Gabdulkhakova, a nutritionist and nutritionist, told Izvestia.
According to her, of course, if a person eats one chocolate bar, then perhaps it will pass without consequences, but it is better not to save your health and not take risks.
— Dubai chocolate, which is widely sold on marketplaces, is imported to Russia from a number of countries — Turkey, Jordan, and, most often, has nothing to do with Dubai. It is sold most often in violation of mandatory requirements for food products — without certificates of conformity, with inscriptions on the packaging in a foreign language, which is strictly prohibited, without specifying the composition," said Baysolt Khamzatov, First vice—president of the International Anti-Counterfeit Association.
According to him, it is important to understand that the nut components in such a product can be the strongest allergens, which should be clearly stated on the packaging, it is not there now, that is, the consumer may not find out about the potential harm to health. In addition, such products may contain dangerous undeclared components, impurities, and unsafe substances. Therefore, it is not recommended to purchase such products, you should treat them with extreme caution, he added.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
