The Omsk Region investigating bodies of the Russia’s Investigative Committee have launched a criminal investigation into violations of sanitary epidemiological legislation by OOO Trade House Cheeses under part 1 of article 238 of the RF Penal Code (production, storage or transportation for sale or sale of goods and products not meeting requirements for life or health safety of consumers).
The check and then investigation were launched after a worker of the dairy plant had posted in Internet photographs and videos where several employees are taking a bath in a container of milk and unrolling a cheese mass in anti-sanitary conditions. According to investigators, the dairy plant producing cheeses Chchil under trade mark Syroyedovo and Adygea was home to gross violations of sanitary and epidemiological norms in producing, storage and sale of goods not meeting requirements for life and health safety of consumers. This year alone over 49 tonnes of the plant’s production has been sold in 14 cities in Russia.
At present initial investigation is under way to find, confiscate and test the sub-quality production and find out all the circumstances of the crime and people involved. All the participants of the incidents, their superior and other workers of the plant involved in production and supervision are going to be questioned in the near future. As for the CEO of the plant, who has put up a PR campaign claiming that the ridiculous incident was a contract sabotage, his claims are unfounded. It has already been established that the liquid in which the workers were bathing on the video was milk for making cheese. During the probe the investigators are going to classify the actions of both workers and heads of the dairy plant, as well as employees of oversight bodies, who did not take adequate measures on time and did not stopped multiple violations of current legislation by the workers of Trade House Sheeses.
Besides, we are addressing to the citizens, who have had food poison following eating sub-quality products of the Trade House Cheeses and asking to immediately report such cases to the Investigative Committee. All the facts will be registered and filed in the case. It is hard to believe that the incident in Trade House Cheeses was more an exception and similar plants strictly observe sanitary rules. The country’s today’s legislation in this area (article 238 of the RF Penal Code) is rather liberal and provides serious punishment only after grave consequences such as health harm or death. Maybe we should not wait for mass poisonings and deaths and right now toughen the punishment for production and distribution of such goods. As those are the consequences if you eat dangerous food regularly.
Head of Media Relations V.I. Markin
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