Russians were told the signs of counterfeit products on store shelves
Food quality expert Balagurov: Dim labels indicate counterfeit
Photo: Alexander Baranov / Kommersant
To understand whether a product is counterfeit, it is enough to carefully examine the packaging, said Grigory Balagurov, director of the Law and Health Foundation for the Protection of Food Quality and Packaging. He named signs of counterfeit products on store shelves in a conversation with Lenta.ru.
First of all, the expert urged to make sure that the product packaging is not damaged, since a breach of the seal, swelling or signs of opening may indicate problems with the product.
Also, according to him, it is worth paying attention to the quality of printing: logos should be clear and without blurriness, fonts and text should correspond to the original style of the brand. If the inscriptions are dim or you can run your finger over them, after which traces of ink will remain on it, then with almost 100% probability it is a counterfeit, the interlocutor of Lenta.ru pointed out.
Feel the packaging material. If it is too thin or easily wrinkled, then most likely it is a counterfeit product. It is extremely typical for the original product to have matte packaging, while the counterfeit has glossy, polished packaging. Also examine the seams and glue joints of the packaging - the edges should be even, there should be no traces of glue anywhere
Grigory Balagurov, Director of the Foundation for the Protection of Food Quality and Packaging "Law and Health"
Instead of the iridescent holograms typical of the original products, fakes often have simply shiny stickers, Balagurov suggested. Imitation excise stamps are also usually visible to the naked eye: the golden stripe that should be pulled out is simply printed.
"It is important to check the barcodes and expiration dates with the production date. The barcodes must be readable and match the codes of the country of manufacture, and the serial number can be checked through the official websites of the manufacturers or special applications. Pay attention to the location of the barcode - counterfeit manufacturers often put them in the wrong places. Regarding dates - fraudsters can change the symbols or use the wrong date format that does not correspond to the country where the product was manufactured," the expert said.
The most reliable and difficult to counterfeit, according to him, are polymer packaging and glass containers. Manufacturers of the latter include a logo or other brand identification marks in the design already at the packaging manufacturing stage, Balagurov explained. To reproduce these elements, special factory equipment is required, he specified.
Earlier, counterfeit butter and cottage cheese were found in Russian stores, including federal retail chains Dixy , Magnit , Svetofor, and O'KEY . Fourteen manufacturers were caught making counterfeits.
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