The State Duma proposed to resume inspections of beer and cider producers

State Duma deputies and the Public Consumer Initiative (OPI) sent an appeal to the Prosecutor General’s Office, the government, Rosalkogolregulirovanie and the Ministry of Industry and Trade with a proposal to resume unscheduled inspections of beer and cider producers of light alcoholic beverages. About it report Izvestia with reference to documents.

According to the OPI, at least 71% of companies producing beer and beer products in Russia “conduct activities in violation of mandatory requirements,” the appeal says. In particular, 48% of them falsely declare production volumes, another 31% provide products of inadequate quality. According to the head of OPI Oleg Pavlov, this was the reason for the introduction of labeling for beer.

The proposal to resume unscheduled checks was made against the backdrop of mass poisoning with surrogate alcohol in several regions of Russia. In a letter to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, leader of the A Just Russia – For Truth faction Sergei Mironov and First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Education Yana Lantratova said that the existing norms in the legislation “may create risks of a recurrence of similar precedents in the future.” In this regard, the deputies proposed to the Cabinet of Ministers to cancel the extension of the moratorium on business inspections.

In a conversation with Izvestia, Mironov noted that the cause of the tragedy was not only the “negligence of individual entrepreneurs”, but also the “imperfection of the entire regulatory system.” He also pointed to an increase in the volume of alcohol production in Russia in 2022 – 16.1 million to 19 million decaliters. “Of course, an increase in market volume leads to an increase in the number of violations,” Mironov concluded.

Rospotrebnadzor said that they would consider the appeal in the manner prescribed by law, as soon as the document arrives at the department. The Ministry of Industry and Trade announced that they had already developed a bill on the introduction of state regulation of the production and circulation of methyl alcohol (methanol).

Reports of mass poisonings with cider initially began to appear in the Ulyanovsk region. According to the latest reports, there from cider poisoning passed away 20 people. Another 51 people were injured, the regional health ministry said. The department noted that the condition of people varies from moderate to severe.

The reason could be alcohol brand “Mr. Cider”. June 6 in the RF IC reportedthat in the course of a chemical forensic examination, impurities of methanol and ethyl butyrate were detected in the seized drink in proportions dangerous to humans. According to the results of toxicological studies, methanol was found in the blood of the victims.

Later it became known about cases of cider poisoning in the Samara region, Penza and Nizhny Novgorod regions, as well as in Udmurtia, Chuvashia. In addition, Mister Cider products were found in the Chelyabinsk Region, the Perm Territory and Sevastopol. No casualties have been reported in these regions yet. Rospotrebnadzor previously called for refraining from drinking this brand of alcohol.

On the evening of June 6, the Leninsky District Court of Ulyanovsk arrested Samara businessman Anar Huseynov, accused of providing services that do not meet security requirements, for two months. Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation Alexander Bastrykin instructed to combine criminal cases in one proceeding, the press service of the Investigative Committee reported.