MOSCOW, September 10 (RAPSI) – Russia’s consumer rights agency Rospotrebnadzor has opened 80 civil liability cases following inspections at McDonald’s restaurants, which revealed that 17% of over 200 food samples did not comply with regulations, Izvestia newspaper writes on Wednesday.

The regulator announced the facts at the request of lawmaker Roman Khudyakov (LDPR). It said the figures were not final because the inspections were not finished yet. So far, Rospotrebnadzor has confiscated 120 kilograms of the chain’s products.

“The Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Protection and Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor) has opened civil liability cases against 80 legal entities, officials and private individuals following inspections at McDonald’s restaurants,” the newspaper writes, citing the service’s statement. “The analysis of 228 food samples showed that 17% of them did not comply with technical regulations, including 6.5% for safety indicators.”

McDonald’s PR director in Russia, Svetlana Polyakova, said the fast food supplier checks all raw materials and cook-chill products for compliance with Russian and company standards, including microbiological criteria.

In August, inspections of McDonald’s restaurants began across Russia, where the fast-food chain has over 430 restaurants in 75 regions.

According to the company’s press service, as of late August, 12 restaurants were suspended in Russia over sanitary violations: four in Krasnodar (southern Russia), three in Moscow (including the first ever McDonald’s restaurant in Russia, on Bolshaya Bronnaya Street), one each in Serpukhov (Moscow Region), Stavropol (southern Russia) and Yekaterinburg (the Urals), and two in Sochi on the Black Sea coast.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets said that Rospotrebnadzor did not plan to inspect all McDonald’s restaurants in Russia. Anna Popova, the head of Rospotrebnadzor, brushed off accusations that the inspections were politically motivated.