Supermint visited the dairy section of grocery stores

By: Trademagazin Date: 2024. 11. 19. 11:45

In the Supermint program, this time the dairy departments of commercial units were inspected by experts from the National Food Chain Safety Office (Nébih). The official inspectors visited 30 stores across the country. During the inspection, products with expired shelf life and unmarked sliced cheese were found, and the cheese slicing activity did not always comply with the regulations. The authority fined the commercial units concerned. A total of five stores earned the excellent rating during the test.

Nébih experts checked the condition and operation of the refrigeration equipment reserved primarily for milk and dairy products, including thermometers, in a total of 30 stores in Budapest and the countryside. They examined the expiration date, the integrity of the packaging and the tracking documents of the products placed in them to see if they complied with the regulations. In several places, measuring instruments or their certification documents were missing, and there was also a problem with the temperature control practice applied during the receipt of goods. The detected errors were corrected in the affected units upon request from the authorities.

Cheese cutting activities were also carried out in 12 of the selected stores, so the inspectors also examined the circumstances of this. During the inspection, products with expired shelf life were found in one store, and the cheese cutting activity carried out on site was also objectionable: the experts revealed hygiene, tracking and documentation deficiencies. The inspectors imposed a fine of 350,000 forints on the given store.

In addition to the refrigerators in the sales area of the stores, the authority also inspected the warehouse equipment. Unmarked, untraceable sliced cheeses were found in the cold room of one commercial unit. A fine of 250,000 forints was imposed on the affected store.

During the on-site inspection, the inspectors took swab samples from the side walls, shelves and handles of the refrigeration equipment in the sales area and in the warehouse for laboratory testing of microbiological contamination. The results are reassuring, as none of the samples contained pathogenic microorganisms.

The Supermenta employees also assessed the stores – primarily their dairy departments – based on classic customer criteria (cleanliness, tidiness). The overall assessment was ultimately based on the results of the official inspection, laboratory tests and the customer-oriented survey.