Azernews.Az

by Alimat Aliyeva

The Russian “Honest Sign” (Chestny Znak) product labeling system has suspended the sale of a batch of Jermuk mineral water from Armenia in both offline and online retail channels, AzerNEWS reports.

According to officials, around 338,000 bottles were placed under restriction and blocked from circulation pending inspection. The decision followed a complaint submitted to Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s consumer safety watchdog, requesting preventive measures to protect public health. The suspension was linked to alleged violations of mandatory safety requirements.

The affected products carry production dates of February 17 and March 5, 2026.

“It will not reach consumers until the verification process is completed,” said Yusupov, a representative of the labeling system.

Previously, the same monitoring system had already restricted Jermuk mineral water sales. In 2024, approximately 2.5 million bottles were withdrawn from the market after a poisoning incident in North Ossetia, where one bottle reportedly contained acetic acid instead of mineral water.

An interesting detail is that this case highlights how modern digital tracking systems like “Honest Sign” are increasingly being used not only for taxation and supply chain control, but also as rapid-response tools for food and beverage safety. In practice, they can freeze entire product batches within hours—something that would have been much slower a decade ago.