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- Diseases of the compounds: vegetable components and beef fat were detected in butter, cottage cheese and kefir
Diseases of the compounds: vegetable components and beef fat were detected in butter, cottage cheese and kefir
Vegetable components and beef fat were found in the composition of cottage cheese, kefir and butter. The counterfeit was found in the products of Vnukovo Oil and Fat Combine, Veldy, Kubanrus-Moloka and Dary Moloka companies. The distribution channels of goods are retail chains Dobrotsen, Svetofor, Dixy, Lenta, Magnit, and Spar. Products were also supplied to social institutions. The Moscow Society for the Protection of Consumer Rights has appealed to the Prosecutor General's Office, Rospotrebnadzor and Rosselkhoznadzor with a request to ban the production and sale of substandard goods. Izvestia investigated what other measures representatives of the organization propose and how low-quality goods end up on store shelves.
Which companies have become leaders in counterfeiting
Another batch of counterfeiting in Russia was detected in the dairy products of the Vnukovsky Oil and Fat Combine (VMZHK), Velda, Kubanrus-Moloko and Dary Moloka enterprises. They produced butter, cottage cheese, sour cream and kefir using vegetable ingredients, beef fat, as well as undeclared raw materials, often with an unreliable shelf life. This is stated in the appeal of the Moscow Society for the Protection of Consumer Rights to the Prosecutor General's Office, Rospotrebnadzor, Rosselkhoznadzor, in which social activists ask to take action against manufacturers. Izvestia has reviewed the document.
"The facts of malicious violations of mandatory requirements are confirmed by both test reports conducted at the Rosselkhoznadzor's VNIIZH Federal State Budgetary Institution and data from the Unified Register of Control (Supervisory) Measures. Moreover, both vegetable fats and beef fats are used for falsification," the appeal to the Prosecutor General's Office says.
Such popular retail chains as Dobrotsen, Svetofor, Dixie, Lenta, Magnit and Spar have been and are still selling counterfeit goods.
"Substandard products are also supplied to social institutions, including kindergartens, schools, colleges, and hospitals," the activists emphasize.
They ask the Prosecutor General's Office to ban the work of these enterprises, including the operation of production facilities where products are manufactured.
— Thanks to the systematic efforts of Rospotrebnadzor, we note a steady increase in the quality and safety of dairy products. However, some manufacturers, taking advantage of the current restrictions on inspections that prevent the application of full—fledged sanctions, still allow themselves to manipulate the composition," Anton Nedzvetsky, the author of the appeal, head of the board of the Moscow Society for Consumer Protection, explained to Izvestia.
According to him, these companies are among the leaders in the frequency of falsification.
— In this regard, we hope for a prompt response from the prosecutor's office and relevant departments, as well as for bringing violators to justice. This will not only help to stop violations, but also give an unambiguous signal to the entire market. We also expect tougher penalties for food adulteration, up to and including criminal ones," the activist said.
The Rosselkhoznadzor's press service confirmed the facts of violations by the companies to Izvestia.
"Based on the results of laboratory studies of food products of animal origin, we inform you that the enterprises Velda, VMZHK, Dary Moloka, Kubanrus-Moloka revealed inconsistencies in terms of falsification and quality in the period from 2022 to 2025," the department said.
They also pointed out that the service had previously proposed to strengthen the fight against fraud by introducing turnover fines depending on the total amount of revenue.
Izvestia sent inquiries to the Prosecutor General's Office, the press service of Rospotrebnadzor, the Association of Retail Companies (ACORT), as well as the above-mentioned manufacturing companies and retail chains.
How counterfeit goods get to the shelves
With the development of labeling and traceability systems, the proportion of counterfeit dairy products is consistently decreasing and is already less than 1%, Oleg Pavlov, deputy chairman of the Public Council at Rospotrebnadzor, told Izvestia.
— Any violations are promptly detected, including by automatic means of control, and become public knowledge. As a result, manipulation of the composition has become the domain of frankly marginal companies that do not care about the perception of their brands. It is all the more surprising that such products are still making their way onto the shelves of some retail chains," he said.
In his opinion, this indicates significant gaps in their control systems. The social activist expressed the hope that the most severe sanctions would be applied to violators, and the products would be withdrawn from all sales channels.
— There are several reasons for such a product to hit the shelves. First, there is a moratorium on inspections of businesses that actively use it, producing obviously low-quality goods. Secondly, retail chains take counterfeit goods for sale because it is cheaper, and you can earn more from it at a margin than from non-counterfeit goods. Therefore, suppliers of high—quality products often cannot get into large retailers, because they will cost more, and the networks will have less margin on them," Pavel Shapkin, chairman of the National Union for Consumer Protection, explained to Izvestia.
According to him, the result is a vicious circle with the sale of low-quality goods to consumers, especially since citizens themselves often choose the cheapest product. According to the expert, the establishment of a minimum price for dairy products with the calculation of its minimum cost could solve the situation. For example, there is no real cheese cheaper than 500 rubles per 1 kg, both manufacturers and suppliers understand this, otherwise it is already a cheese product. If there are minimum prices, then the consumer will be able to distinguish such a product, the expert believes.
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