Nearly 90% of Armenian brandy sold in Russia unsafe - study

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.