At his meeting with journalists on Friday, Melkon Gasparyan, Head of the Yerevan Branch, Social & Industrial Foodservice Institute Moscow, Russia, said that home producers are not protected in Armenia.

He cited the example of Bonilat Company, a producer of dairy foods. A newspaper published discrediting information on the company.

According to the Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun newspaper, the company-produced dairy foods underwent lab tests, which showed E. coli in the foods. However, the newspaper did not inform the readers of various E. coli strains and of the lab tests supposed to expose harmful strains.

After the newspaper published that article, the company applied to the National Institute of Standards.

Gasparyan noted that, under the School Milk program, the Bonilat Company supplied milk products to four schools in Talin and two schools in Yerevan.

“A director who has seven children cannot produce low-quality milk foods for children,” Gasparyan said.