"The fishery industry is doing fine this year – the total catch from January 1 to the mid-October exceeded 3.4 million tonnes, 6% above last year's catch. The share of Russian-produced fish and other seafood in the domestic market is steadily growing, and relevant imports have been reduced by 13.6%. However, a big catch is only the initial phase of a big job: it matters no less to bring quality fish to the consumer," Mr Zubkov said in his introductory remarks.
The meeting summarised comprehensive inspections of over 13,000 fishing companies and retail outlets by the Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Protection and Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor), made on Zubkov's order, to enhance product quality and safety.
The meeting focused on compliance with sanitary, tagging, storage and other standards, and the concentration of phosphates and other harmful admixtures in the fish – particularly of ice in deep-frozen fish, with a 5% cut-off point, according to current requirements.
The inspections resulted in 6,500 fines, exceeding 33 million roubles, imposed on traders for noncompliance with sanitary laws, 6,000 batches of fish and fish derivatives, totalling 110 tonnes removed from the counter, 161 lawsuits brought forth for administrative suspension of activities, and the suspension of activities at 16 canneries and 105 shops.
Standards of ice concentration are generally complied with, the inspectors said. They noted a dramatic decrease of the number of consumers' complaints. Noncompliance with sanitary regulations was detected in 6.8% of the 13,600 sample batches, imports from China and Vietnam accounting for the greatest amount of substandard products, up to 24% of the total.
The meeting paid special attention to radiation monitoring of the maritime flora and fauna in the Far East, enhanced since the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster.
Daily monitoring of the Russian and other waters of the Northwest Pacific by Rospotrebnadzor and the Federal Agency for Fishery (Rosrybolovstvo) has not revealed radioactive contamination exceeding safety standards.
Zubkov ordered all relevant agencies and services to carry on the monitoring. He instructed Rospotrebnadzor and Rosrybolovstvo to make proposals on:
- enhancing administrative liability for noncompliance with the standards of public sanitary and epidemic safety and consumer rights protection in the production of, and trade in seafood-derived products;
- drafting technical regulations of the Customs Union on fish and derived products concerning the limits of ice concentration in deep-frozen fish and other seafood products.