UPDATE4: Russian watchdog holds full-scale checks of Auchan stores

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MOSCOW, Aug 19 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Federal Service for Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare Oversight is conducting a full-scale investigation of product quality at Auchan retail store chain, Director of the service Anna Popova told reporters Wednesday.

“We have been conducting systemic and full-scale planned checks in all stores of the Auchan chain in Moscow since mid-June, in five large and the rest, which are considered smaller,” she said.

Results of the checks will be made public until mid-September, spokeswoman for the authority Anna Sergeyeva told radio Govorit Moskva.

The probe into Auchan stores is out of a political context and was planned already in 2014, a spokesperson for the Federal Service for Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare Oversight told PRIME.

The authority earlier reported sales of meat past its expiry date at Russian Auchans after manipulations with labels during storage, processing and on shelves. It also detected traces of horsemeat and chicken in what was called minced beef.

The watchdog said in a report that it detected violations of sanitary norms at another Auchan store, in Moscow’s Kuntsevo District. The company did not duly disinfect the equipment used for convenience food preparation and mixed solid waste with biological waste, it said. The same violations were earlier detected in four other stores of the chain.

Auchan has filed a lawsuit against the federal service’s earlier ruling to prosecute the company to the Moscow Arbitration Court. The details of the authority’s contested decision were not disclosed.

The retailer agreed with some of the complaints while it will contest the rest of them, for instance the horsemeat claims, according to earlier reports.

The court has scheduled the case hearing for September 17.

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