Fewer counterfeit products in Russia, but all loopholes must be closed - watchdog head
MOSCOW. Dec 13 (Interfax) - There are fewer counterfeit products on the Russian market, but offenders are finding loopholes, so the level of responsibility must be higher to close all paths for such products to consumers, the head of the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) Sergei Dankvert said.
"Fighting counterfeiters is a nationwide effort, but they find new loopholes. So outwardly, we are reducing the level of counterfeit products, but there is no internal satisfaction. If this fight is not accompanied by serious accountability for those who break the rules, they will look for new ways to legalize themselves. And that's disheartening," Dankvert said in an interview with the Russia 24 television channel on Friday.
This issue has been quickly regulated in a number of countries, Dankvert said. "In the U.S., for example, those who engage in counterfeiting cannot set up a company in the fields which they worked in. If food is tainted once, that's it - you're excluded for life from being a founder of such companies," he said.
"We believe that to combat counterfeiting, we need to strengthen responsibility above all. We have 28 artificial intelligence modules working, assessing products according to numerous criteria. And whereas before we had to rely on a limited number of people to find violations, now the AI does the initial screening, and people then make conclusions," he said.
To improve the situation in this field, there needs to be a change in legislation that would allow certain sources from information systems to serve as a basis for conducting checks. "Currently, to conduct an inspection, we need approval from the prosecutor's office. Otherwise, we cannot apply administrative pressure on the offender," he said.
There should be a return to the production of well-known products according to GOST standards, he said. "For example, if we take Doctorskaya sausage, it should contain 75% beef. There should be no trimmings or internal organs in it," he said. "If it's Mishka na Severe, it must be made according to the Soviet GOST [system]. Palm oil was definitely not imported when Mishka na Severe was produced 25 years ago," he said.
"Therefore, many well-known types of products, which are associated with certain quality - such as Krakovskaya sausage, for example - should be standardized according to GOST. The consumer benefits from this. Of course, businesses prefer it when products are made according to technical conditions they establish and control themselves," he said.
"I believe that next year we must work together to strengthen accountability in several areas, including those related to the use of counterfeit products in the social sector," Dankvert said. "Today, the control mechanism only works if the governor is involved. This is wrong. It needs to be state policy, not just the responsibility of each region individually."
