Food Safety Inspectorate Discovers Counterfeit Food Products

Receiving a signal from the issue raised in the "Sharp Corner" program of Armenia TV regarding the composition of sour cream, employees of the RA Food Safety Inspectorate conducted a controlled purchase of 18% fat sour cream under the "Ashtarak Milk" brand produced by Pargev LLC on March 13, 2019, from retail points in Yerevan. Laboratory tests on the sour cream samples obtained during the inspection revealed that it contains vegetable oil.

Accordingly, this product does not comply with the requirements of the Customs Union’s technical regulation on the "Safety of Milk and Dairy Products" 033/2013 and is not sour cream but rather a product containing milk mixed with a milk fat substitute, produced using sour cream technology.

At the same time, it is important to note that, according to the RA Law on Food Safety, Article 2, Clause 1, Part 12, this product is considered counterfeit food.

Counterfeit food is defined as:

• Food whose composition has been altered without appropriate labeling changes,
• Food whose labeling has been changed without corresponding changes in composition,
• Food to which other substances have been added or that has been processed with the inclusion of other substances with the aim of concealing non-compliance with established requirements,
• Food that contains incorrect labeling regarding its special purpose,
• Food for which another organization’s name, trademark, or brand name has been used without proper authorization from that organization.

The Food Safety Inspectorate is taking necessary measures to ensure state control based on the principle of traceability.

Currently, state control measures are being carried out in the sour cream market, and we will provide further information about the results.