YEREVAN, JUNE 30, NOYAN TAPAN. "Electronic scales that weigh up to 300 grams less in a kilogram are used now in street trade," the chairman of Protection of Consumer Rights (PCR) NGO Abgar Yeghoyan said at the June 29 press conference. According to him, scales of registered economic entities only are subject to testing by "Chapaget" Institute, which is the state licensed body ensuring the uniformity of measurements in Armenia. Scales of street vendors are not tested at all, while the use of household scales in trade is forbidden. A. Yeghoyan informed those present that PCR conducts monitorings of the food market every month, according to which there are a lot of old, uncertified foodstuffs in the market. They contain various pollutants or thier marking does not correspond with requirements of the law. There are frequent cases of violation of temperature and sanitary-hygiene conditions of food storage. PCR chairman said that their NGO proposed that the Armenian government should set up an interdepartmental working group from members of organizations on consumer rights' protection for the purpose of working out legislative proposals for dealing with the situation in the food market. In his opinion, this proposal is of anticorruption character because law-quality foodstuffs from abroad do not pass customs control and are not certified, therefore, they are not taxed and are sold without control of the appropriate bodies. Besides, the same foodstuffs sold at various points of trade (kiosk, shop, fair) are taxed in various ways, while food sold in the streets is not taxed at all. A. Yeghoyan noted that although the whole production of domestic food producers is certified, they also commit violations of food marking rules, particularly, those on production and expiry date.

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