October 31, 2014. Rospotrebnadzor (the state consumer rights watchdog) determined that 31% of Sverdlovsk Region-based alcohol-selling companies do not entirely comply with the existing regulations, head of the agency’s Sverdlovsk Region Food Hygiene Department Natalya Sheluntsova announced at a press conference.

‘217 enterprises have underwent checks since the start of the year, and instances of non-compliance were detected in 31% of the businesses. 180 batches of strong drinks (some 2,000 liters altogether) had to be confiscated. Mostly, non-compliance had to do with discrepancies between the contents and the ingredients on the label, products past their sell-by date, and alcohol available for purchase in places where its sale is forbidden,’ Sheluntsova said.

The official states the number of detected offenses was 1.5 times higher in January-October 2014 compared with January-October 2013.