Experts from Rospotrebnadzor’s Central Yekaterinburg Department of Sverdlovsk Region carried out inspections of Auchan and Auchan-City hypermarkets located in Yekaterinburg’s Verkh-Isetskiy district in April 2010. The inspections were organized in accordance with the state consumer rights watchdog’s official schedule for the year 2010, the spokesperson for Rospotrebnadzor reports.

The two stores were checked for compliance with the existing health legislation, the Consumer Rights Protection Act, and the sales regulations for certain kinds of products.

The better part of the problems detected in the course of the inspections has to do with the fact that Auchan allows for re-packaging of food items with a short shelf life into boxes and packets that bear a new expiry date. Also, the company does not make sure the necessary information about the products is available, does not do any pre-sales preparation, and does not test the quality of strong drinks offered for sale on the basis of the drinks’ external characteristics.

Following the inspection, twenty-four kinds of foods (including ten imported kinds) were withdrawn from commerce. Eleven employees in executive positions had to face administrative liability on the basis of Articles 6.4, 14.4 (part 1), 14.4 (part 2), 14.16 (part 3), and 14.15 of the Russian Federation Administrative Offense Code. OOO Auchan itself was charged with administrative offenses on the basis of Articles 6.3, 14.4 (part 2), 14.8 (part 1), and 14.16 (part 3) of the Russian Federation Administrative Offense Code.

The company and its representatives will also have to pay 105,000 RUR worth of administrative fines.