ArmInfo. Almost 90% of Armenian cognacs sold in Russian stores turned out to be unsafe, while almost half of the products contain non-grape spirits. This is stated in a joint study by the international association "Anti-counterfeit" and the Union of Cognac, Spirits and Alcoholic Beverages Producers, which TASS has become familiar with.
To conduct the study, 200 samples of cognac of more than 20 brands from ten of the largest Armenian producers were purchased. The samples were purchased in stores of most Russian federal retail chains and were sent for analysis to an independent laboratory of the All-Russian Research Institute of Brewing, Soft Drinks and Wine Industry. "In 177 of them, or 89% - 9 out of 10 samples, violations were found. And in almost half of them, non-grape spirits were found. And grape spirits are what actually make a drink cognac. And only 23 samples were found to be fully compliant with GOSTs and the legislation of the Russian Federation," the study says.
In this regard, the Anti-Counterfeit Association sent appeals to the Prosecutor General's Office, the Federal Customs Service and Rosalkogoltobakkontrol with a request to take measures for additional control over imported alcoholic products from the Republic of Armenia, given that the imported cargo passes in transit through the Republic of Georgia, and to take measures to limit the circulation of products that do not meet quality standards in wholesale and retail networks. As indicated in the relevant appeals, counterfeit alcoholic products coming from Armenia create conditions for unfair competition and price dumping. "And, consequently, creates a threat of ousting bona fide participants from the market. Cheap counterfeit products are already putting domestic producers in a difficult position and in the event of continued expansion of counterfeit products on the Russian market in the near future, we will be talking about the survival of Russian producers as such," the letters say.
"The results of the research were shocking. We were ready to reveal a certain number of violations, but the fact that almost half of the cognacs in stores are completely counterfeit is an off-the-scale figure. It is interesting that even if you choose one brand and buy only it, this is not a guarantee that you will not be deceived. Samples of the same brand with one bottling date may comply with the standards, while those with a different bottling date contain non-grape spirits instead of grape spirit," said Kristina Skripnik, General Director of the Anti-Counterfeit Association.
