Half of stalls selling kvass in Chisinau closed

Half of the stalls that sell kvass in Chisinau have been closed following the detection of coliform bacteria that are dangerous for health in the drink. Legal action was taken against the owner over breach of the kvass selling rules, Info-Prim Neo reports. In a news conference on August 4, Oleg Putuntica, the head of the Ministry of the Interior’s Frauds Investigation Division, said coliform bacteria were found in the samples from 41 of the 80 “Chisinau Kvass” stalls examined. Most of the stalls that sell dangerous kvass are located in Centru and Buiucani districts. The owner will be held accountable for tax evasion as well because most of the stalls did not have authorizations, individual work contracts with the sellers and cash registers. Oeg Putntica said every stall gave by about 1,500 lei a day to the owner after selling the kvass. Vladimir Nirca, the head of the Chisinau Council’s Trade and Public Food Division, said the number of kvass selling stalls this year is twice higher than last year. According to him, the deputy mayor of Chisinau Mihai Furtuna’s assertion that the kvass sold in Chisinau is safe to drink will be verified. Oxana Lacteva, of the State Main Tax Inspectorate, said the fines imposed after inspecting the kvass selling stalls exceed 500,000 lei. In the news conference, a former seller of kvass, Ana Stavila, said the owner of the “Chisinau Kvass” stalls does not pay the salaries on time and never took steps when the consumers complained that the drink was of a poor quality. “He told us that if the inspectors came, we should run away and not give them the notebook where we wrote the sums of money,” she said, adding she filed an application, demanding that she be paid salary for the months she worked. Oleg Putuntica said the owner of the stalls was invited to the news conference, but he refused to come.