Could the buried rotten meat have ended up on store shelves?- Babken Pipoyan asks
ArmInfo. Babken Pipoyan, Chairperson of the public organization "Informed and Protected Consumer", commented on the message distributed today by the State Revenue Committee of the Republic of Armenia, stating that a company in Armenia returned tons of buried rotten meat to a warehouse. He asks how much product was found in the warehouse and if any of it was sold to the consumer.
Earlier today, the Tax and Customs Committee issued a statement that several days ago, following the conclusion of the Food Safety Inspectorate, employees of the Tax and Customs Committee arrived at the warehouse of the "Armen-Amik Brothers" company and disposed of 13.5 tons of rotten chicken. The spoiled meat was buried in the village of Akunk. It soon became known that the entrepreneurs did not agree with the inspection's decision - they dug up the tons of rotten chicken and returned it to the warehouse. During a search of the company's refrigerators, remains of rotten chicken with particles of soil on the packaging were found.
"Of course, it is good that the State Revenue Committee was able to prevent the incident. However, the report mentions that during monitoring on the same day, it was discovered that the goods had been removed from underground. There is no information in another part of the report about when the removed goods were found in warehouses," notes Pipoyan.
Babken Pipoyan recalls that according to paragraphs 5 and 6 of the procedure for the use and destruction of hazardous food products and hazardous feed as determined by RA Government Resolution No. 1060, the RA Food Safety Inspectorate Authority, will recognize a product as hazardous based on negative examination results. They will then make a corresponding decision specifying the methods and conditions for eliminating the source of danger of the hazardous product or its use or destruction. The same resolution states that in cases of contamination (or infection) of hazardous products, where there is a risk of spreading diseases or poisoning people or animals, or causing environmental pollution, disinfection is required before or after the destruction process.
"Although the State Revenue Committee's message does not mention information about the destruction of goods through the customs procedure, it is important to note that this option is also not excluded. According to the RA Government Resolution No. 1681, the method of destruction is determined by the authorized body. However, questions about the procedure for the destruction of products and the method of destruction chosen and the reasons behind it all require clarification." the expert summarizes.