Food without danger: Rosselkhoznadzor will unscheduled check suppliers of Svetofor
The Rosselkhoznadzor is preparing to conduct unscheduled inspections of manufacturers and suppliers who work with the Svetofor network. As Izvestia learned, the necessary draft instructions have already been sent to the government for approval. At the end of January, Rospotrebnadzor completed its inspections of the stores of this retail chain and suspended the work of 76 of them. Svetofor came into the focus of the authorities' attention after mass complaints from suppliers, they were the ones who were outraged by the retailer's harsh working conditions.
What kind of checks are waiting for the "Traffic Light" again
The scandalous story of the Svetofor retail chain has received an equally high-profile sequel. Following Rospotrebnadzor, the Rosselkhoznadzor is preparing for unscheduled field inspections, it is this service that controls raw materials. She will evaluate the work of suppliers and manufacturers, those legal entities and individual entrepreneurs who store and sell their goods in the retailer's stores. The drafts of the necessary government instructions have already been prepared, and the papers have been sent to the Cabinet of Ministers for approval. The Rosselkhoznadzor reported this to First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, and Izvestia reviewed the documents.
The Rosselkhoznadzor has not yet received the agreed draft instructions, the service told Izvestia. The reason for the inspections is "information received about the sale of unsafe veterinary products," they noted.
The editorial board sent a request to the retail chain and Denis Manturov's office.
In January, the Rosselkhoznadzor had already partially checked the documents of the retail chain. For example, the service detected violations using the Mercury livestock tracking system. It turned out that in the Rostov region, some of the goods in 60 stores of the chain were sold without the necessary accompanying documents that confirm the safety and quality of the products. The regulator announced this on its website. But the service could not punish the "Traffic Light" then — this type of control only provides for issuing a warning.
Also in winter, Svetofor experienced large-scale unscheduled field inspections by Rospotrebnadzor, which took place in 45 regions from January 10 to January 31. Almost 1.5 thousand stores were under supervision, and the service took 8.1 thousand samples from them. The experts found gross violations of mandatory requirements in every fifth sample of dairy products out of almost 3.5 thousand examined, in every fifth of 860 samples of meat products, in every sixth of 246 samples of canned food, in every fourth sample of poultry out of 167 studied. As a result, 76 stores were suspended by the court.
The on-site inspection allows for a comprehensive study of the manufacturer's products and activities, Oleg Pavlov, head of the Public Consumer Initiative, explained to Izvestia. Such control will allow the Rosselkhoznadzor to bring violators to administrative responsibility. This will affect those manufacturers and suppliers who have released and sell goods in violation of mandatory requirements.
— In this case, serious sanctions may follow: fines of up to 1 million rubles with confiscation of unsafe products, suspension of activities — up to 90 days. The specific punishment will depend on the composition of the offense. The Rosselkhoznadzor may also revoke documents for manufacturers that confirm the safety and quality of products, that is, declarations of conformity. In practice, this means that neither Svetofor nor other retail chains will simply be able to sell such products," he noted.At the same time, Oleg Pavlov recalled that the control over the quality and safety of processed, that is, ready-to-eat, products is the responsibility of Rospotrebnadzor.
The Svetofor retail chain is represented in Russia by two brands — Svetofor and Mayak directly, 2.2 thousand stores operate under these signs, they are provided by more than 100 logistics centers. According to the rating of Infoline Analytics, for the first nine months of 2024, the retailer's revenue amounted to 286.3 billion rubles (-2.2% compared to the same period in 2023). The organization ranks fifth in the list of the largest retailers in the country after X5 Group, Magnit, Krasnoe & Beloe and Lenta.
Why did regulators come to Svetofor with checks
It is no coincidence that regulators came to this particular retailer with control measures. For almost the entire year 2024, Deputy Sergei Lisovsky appealed to the government with a request to conduct inspections. The parliamentarian defended the interests of suppliers and manufacturers: they massively complained about the company, which grossly violated the law on trade, dictating unfavorable working conditions to partners.
For example, the retail chain did not directly conclude supply contracts with manufacturers, contracts were drawn up for logistics centers. In turn, they imposed working conditions on suppliers under the pretext that they were not covered by the relevant law. In practice, the retail chain returned expired goods to its partners and much more. It was this approach that led to quite serious disruptions in the network, Sergei Lisovsky told Izvestia.
— On the one hand, it is logical that after the violations found by Rospotrebnadzor, regulators will also check the suppliers of goods. But you need to understand that the retail chain is pushing some manufacturers to manufacture counterfeit goods: for example, a pack of butter costs 100 rubles to purchase, while Svetofor insists on 80 rubles, which can only be done by counterfeiting goods," he said. — In my opinion, the fault lies with the retail chain, which strives to buy products at the lowest prices, manufacturers are only ready to go along with it.
Conscientious manufacturers always monitor the quality of their products, adhering to strict multi-level quality control systems, which include analysis at the stage of acceptance of raw materials, laboratory studies of finished products, as well as research at the stage of transportation of goods to the network, Dmitry Leonov, deputy chairman of the Board of the Rusprodsoyuz association, told Izvestia.
Many modern enterprises have implemented a product quality and safety control system developed according to international standards, he stressed. Therefore, the presence of low-quality products on the shelf does not always indicate the fault of the supplier. Here it is necessary to understand at what stage the failure occurred, how the product quality was controlled after the goods were accepted at the distribution center, during transportation from it to the outlet and directly in the store itself, the expert concluded.
It is important that the decision to conduct inspections of Svetofor suppliers affects only those who have been found to have violations, and does not affect enterprises that are bona fide suppliers, the Soyuzmoloko association told Izvestia.
Two regulators are checking stores and manufacturers of the Svetofor retail chain at once. This means that the company has been thoroughly taken over, says Peter Shelishch, co-chairman of the Consumer Union of the Russian Federation. Most likely, the case will be brought to its logical conclusion and the network may leave the market, he told Izvestia. After all, the supervisory authorities officially declare that the company is a systematic violator, a mass seller of expired products, which is dangerous for people. We are talking about serious risks for the trading network. As a result, if it disappears, its customers will shift to other discounters, he concluded.
The retail chain itself is very optimistic about the future. Earlier, Elena Zakharenko, director of the Svetofor network in the Central Federal District, told the media that large-scale inspections caused minor damage, there is no risk that the network will not be able to work due to this situation. According to her, the number of temporarily closed stores is quite modest and cannot in any way affect the stability of the company's position in the market. The retail chain intends to appeal court decisions on the suspension of stores. Elena Zakharenko is confident that the decisions of Rospotrebnadzor could have been taken without sufficient legal grounds.
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