Auchan partially agrees with watchdog's concerns, awaits further inspection reports
MOSCOW. Aug 6 (Interfax) - Auchan has received reports from inspections that Russia's Federal Veterinary and Phyto-Sanitary Oversight Service (Rosselkhoznadzor) conducted in July at four of the retailer's hypermarkets in Moscow, and has partially agreed with the watchdog's complaints.
However, the company has not yet received reports on the tests on the basis of which Rosselkhoznadzor announced the discovery of foreign DNA in ground meat sold at Auchan stores.
Auchan will soon organize additional control over use-by dates on products, allocate special areas for separate storage of products from suppliers and products made in-house, company public relations director Maria Kurnosova was quoted as saying in a statement released by the retailer.
Auchan will also tighten control over disinfection of containers for storing spices, reconfigure production spaces and, if necessary, renovate.
The company will also rectify violations identified by Rosselkhoznadzor concerning the absence of labels on bins for disposal of biowaste, and will additionally monitor disinfection of places where biowaste and inventory are stored.
Auchan will also take into account the watchdog's recommendations when labeling products made in-house.
However, the retailer does not agree with some other complaints from Rosselkhoznadzor and intends to challenge them. This concerns control over bioproducts that is exercised by state veterinarians at logistics centers and hypermarkets upon entry and disposal of written-off bioproducts, Kurnosova said.
Auchan also plans to challenge the conclusion that its food safety management system does not comply with the HACCP system, since the watchdog did not request the relevant internal documents during the inspections.
There could also be differences over recommendations for the equipment of meat departments, since Rosselkhoznadzor's requirements apply more to meat processing plants, Kurnosova said.
Auchan has not yet received reports on the tests on the basis of which Rosselkhoznadzor announced the discovery of foreign DNA in meat products made by the company itself. The company has also not received an explanation or support for the statement published on August 4, Kurnosova said.
