Dangerous Chicken Breast Batches Found in Several Shops in Gyumri, Reports FSRA

Recently, a citizen reported to the hot line of the Food Safety Inspection Body of Armenia that they purchased chicken breast from the "Glendale" store located in the Mush 2 community of Gyumri. After cooking, the consumer noticed that the chicken breast was falling apart and had a gelatinous texture.

In response to the complaint, specialists from the Shirak regional center of the Food Safety Inspection Body conducted monitoring and control purchases of poultry meat at two supermarkets, "Glendale" and "King." Violations of poultry meat sale requirements were revealed at both selling points; specifically, the necessary documents confirming product quality and safety were absent.

The responsible parties at the points of sale did not provide any documentation for the identification of the batch being sold, and there were no labels in Armenian on the chicken breast, chicken drumsticks, and whole chickens present. Additionally, boxes found in the storage areas of the shops also lacked labels in Armenian.

All batches have been sealed, and directives have been issued by the Food Safety Inspection Body regarding the suspension of sales, destruction, or withdrawal of the products.

During the oversight, the owners of the aforementioned supermarkets—David Hakobyan for "Glendale" and Armen Krdoyan for "King"—stated that the supplier of the poultry meat is Artak Solomonian. He provided examples of the labels on the boxes of poultry he supplied (from Russia, Stavropol Krai, "Pticekombinat" LLC for "Glendale" and from Russia, Tambov Oblast, "Tokarevskaya Poultry Factory" LLC for "King") and assured that he had supplied that specific product to the shops, confirming that the chicken breast available in the stores was acquired from the importer "Silicon Trade" LLC.

Upon studying the labels on the provided boxes, it was found that the product sold as frozen chicken breast was labeled as "broiler chicken fillet for frying" and was specifically identified as a marinated semi-finished product. However, due to the absence of labeling in the stores, it was sold as frozen chicken breast.

Samples were taken from the batches of chicken breast present in the "Glendale" and "King" sales points for laboratory testing. As a result, a sample taken from "Glendale" supermarket was found to contain Listeria monocytogenes bacteria and the moisture content was 80%.

This batch has been recognized as dangerous and unsuitable for consumption, leading to the suspension of its sale, removal from the market, and destruction.

The Inspection Body is currently conducting state control measures at the importer "Silicon Trade" LLC to take all necessary actions to uncover the entire supply chain.