Onishchenko urged to tighten control over alcohol producers

Gennady Onishchenko.

© press service of the State Duma

The story of the mass poisoning of Russians with cider speaks of the need to tighten control over all manufacturers of fermented drinks, said Radio Sputnik former State Duma deputy, ex-head of Rospotrebnadzor, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Gennady Onishchenko.

The alcoholic drink “Mr. Cider” led to the poisoning of 101 people, another 31 cases of poisoning ended in death, as reported by the “Parliamentary newspaper”. Specialists of the territorial bodies of Rospotrebnadzor, together with representatives of Rosalkogolregulirovanie, seized 71.4 thousand liters of surrogate cider in 17 regions of the Russian Federation. On June 9, the Samara District Court until August 8 arrested the thief of methanol, from which the drink was subsequently made. Also, until August 4, a supplier of illegal alcohol was taken into custody.

The ban on alcohol in general, according to Onishchenko, is a “shake in the air”, while “very serious conclusions” should be drawn. “Firstly, to give the right to check all such “almshouses”, including beer producers. Moreover, this should be done by the Prosecutor General’s Office throughout the country,” he said.

Rospotrebnadzor urged citizens to be vigilant when buying such drinks and report cases of the sale of “Mr. Cider” to local authorities.

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