The question of how to check alcohol has become especially relevant after the frequent cases of poisoning people with fake alcohol . Many of those who tried to save money before the holidays only made their lives shorter. Moreover, the poisoned far from in all cases were marginalized individuals. For example, there was a case when, after drinking surrogate alcohol at a New Year’s office party, a young woman who worked at one of the prestigious enterprises of the city died. Later it turned out that she bought the deadly drink through the Internet in advance and brought it with her to the event. A small dose was sufficient for poisoning. Another well-known wave of poisoning, which led to mass deaths in 2016, is associated with the use of Hawthorn.
How to protect yourself and your loved ones from this disaster? Let us consider in more detail in this review how to check alcohol for authenticity.
Through EGAIS
Let's dwell on this in more detail. Recently, the EGAIS system was launched in our country. As conceived by the creators, it should completely exclude the possibility of selling counterfeit alcohol products on store shelves. Practice shows that this system really works. The principle is as follows: each alcohol unit has a unique number, which is contained in a special database. Any buyer can check the excise stamp alcohol. To do this, just use one of the special applications. The seller will not even be able to sell you alcohol with a fake brand, if you have an Internet connection. Therefore, if one is absent, it is better to purchase alcohol in another store.
The EGAIS system significantly reduces the likelihood of cheating when selling alcohol. In addition, it allows you to strictly control sales. If the store purchased 100 bottles of products and sold 120, then they are awaiting verification. Plus, such a system will protect the buyer from counterfeiting.
Certified Signs
So what are they for? How to check alcohol before drinking? To protect citizens from counterfeit products, special certified stickers are used. They have several degrees of protection. First, certain paper is used to make them. Secondly, they have decals. Thirdly, they contain verifiable online code. The sticker also shimmers in the light.
The use of special expensive equipment in the manufacture of high-quality stickers provides an opportunity to reduce smuggling. It is simply unprofitable for attackers to fake original characters. Therefore, counterfeit products are becoming less and less common on store shelves today.
Visual differences
This aspect should be given special attention. How to check alcohol? The quality of the drink can be distinguished by a number of visual signs. Pay attention to the following characteristics:
- The label should have straight edges, there should be no stains in the picture.
- On the back of the bottle should be the inscription "Alcoholic beverages."
- The words FSM and Mark can be seen under a magnifying glass. The colors of the inscriptions are depicted inverted.
- You can also find two blue squares that will glow under a fluorescent lamp.
Many do not pay due attention to excise duty checks. Some even believe that counterfeit in composition is even cleaner than excise alcohol. However, according to statistics, it is fake alcoholic beverages that most often cause such serious consequences as loss of hearing and vision.
Check brand
What you need to know about this? Speaking about the verification of the authenticity of alcoholic beverages, one cannot but mention the special service created by Rosalkogolregulirovanie. On the website of the Federal Service for the Control of the Market for Alcoholic Beverages there is a tab, which is called "Checking Marks". Authorized bodies, licensed organizations can check alcohol by barcode for authenticity here.
So how is control done? The service allows you to check alcohol by barcode by checking the data printed on the brand with the information registered in the EGAIS. For this, it is necessary to read the information as a scanner. Data is entered in a special service column.
Verification Instructions
Let's look at it in detail. An example instruction for obtaining information through this service is as follows:
- On the official website of the Rosalkogolregulirovanie, you should select the tab "Electronic services for the organization."
- In the list presented, go to the link "Electronic services of the Russian Alcohol Regulation for Organizations".
- In the next window, you must enter the TIN and password. This data is needed to complete the registration procedure.
- After that, click on the item "Check brands" and "Add."
- After reading the barcode, it must be saved in the appropriate column;
- After a while, the service will issue information on the brand: its details, date and time of submitting the application for verification.
- To obtain information about the requested brand in the EGAIS system, click "Print". That's all.
Before gaining access to the service, you must submit a written request to the Federal Service for the Regulation of the Alcohol Market. It should justify the need to connect a specific person designated by the organization as responsible for working with the information portal (F. I. O. and email address).
Counterfeit Applications
How to check alcohol by barcode? For this purpose, you can use one of the applications for smartphones. What are they and what is their feature? The most popular today is the popular Anti-Counterfeit Alco application. You can download the program in the official App Store and Google Play stores. From the excess amount of data required for registration, it is easy to understand that the application was developed by order of the state, but despite this, it functions well. To verify the authenticity of the alcohol, you must scan the barcode on the bottle with the camera of your phone. Also, users of the application have access to a special map of stores licensed to sell alcohol.
Service Application Algorithm
Let's consider in more detail how to check alcohol by code using the Anti-Counterfeit application.
So:
- After downloading and installing the application, launch it. Then a map opens showing the location of the legal points of sale of alcoholic beverages. It can be converted to a list with a geographic location, determined by the user's location.
- There is a Scan tab below. When you switch to it, the phone’s camera is activated. The application will prompt the user to point the camera at the bar code located on the brand of the drink or at the QR code in the check received from the seller.
- The screen will display basic information about its route from the place of production to the outlet. In the absence of this information, it can be considered that the product is counterfeit.
Also in the application there is a function that allows you to notify authorized bodies of cases of detection of illegal alcoholic beverages. To do this, click on the "Notify" button. After that, the application will independently determine the user's position. You will only have to attach a photo as a confirmation of the violation, and leave your comment.
What is the penalty?
This aspect is worth exploring in the first place. Now that you know how to check alcohol by number and barcode, you are probably interested in what responsibility is provided for trade in counterfeit goods. According to article 12 of Federal Law No. 171, persons who produce and supply alcohol are responsible for the authenticity and correct application of excise stamps. The release of beverages without marking prescribed by law or with violations of the rules for its application is regulated by article 15.12 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. Criminal liability is also provided for the production, storage, marketing and transportation of products that do not have the appropriate labeling. Section 327 provides for the punishment of forgery and sale of documents, forms, seals and stamps.
Other control methods
You can check the alcohol bar by line on the excise stamp right in the store before buying the product. Employees of the relevant department of the supermarket, if necessary, should tell you how to do this. They can also independently scan barcodes from labels and display all the necessary information on the display. However, even such a verification method does not always guarantee the acquisition of quality products. Other degrees of protection must be considered. The following are recommendations for choosing alcohol.
How to choose the right liquor?
On this aspect it is worth dwelling in more detail. The first and most important thing to think about is the place where you purchased the products. You can buy alcoholic beverages only in retail chains that are licensed for this. In no case should you buy alcohol from your hands, in kiosks, tents and stalls, as well as in crowded places, such as markets and train stations. In addition, it is dangerous to order alcohol over the Internet.
After you decide on the place of purchase, you can proceed directly to the selection of products. The appearance of the bottle is of particular importance. There are no defects, scratches, abrasions on it. The label must be intact. It is also recommended to pay attention to the cost of production. It should not be too low.
Label
So what do you need to know about this? When choosing alcohol, be sure to pay attention to the contents of the label. It must bear the following information:
- name of manufacturer and product;
- information on the location of the manufacturer;
- information about the strength of products;
- packing volume;
- information about the composition. It usually indicates the grade of ethanol, the main ingredients and nutritional supplements;
- information confirming the conformity of products;
- bottling date and expiration date;
- information about the document according to which the product was manufactured.
Storage conditions
The temperature at which alcohol was stored was also of some importance. Violation of the conditions leads to a change in the organoleptic properties of the drink: taste, color, sediment. For vodka, normal storage conditions are temperatures from -15 to +30 degrees. For alcoholic beverages, this figure can be from -10 to +25 degrees, and for sparkling wines from +5 to +20.
Conclusion
In this review, we examined in detail the main ways in which you can test alcohol. By number, by barcode or by other criteria - you only need to choose an acceptable method.
The buyer today has access to the user part of the EGAIS system. Everyone can check the alcohol here. Just enter the product data. You can also use one of the special applications for a mobile phone. They greatly simplify the task. It is enough to point the phone’s camera to the QR code in the check, and you will get access to all the necessary information about the drink you are interested in. Here you can also file a complaint against an unscrupulous seller selling counterfeit products.
As it turned out, there are many options for checking alcohol. Which one to choose - decide for yourself. Most importantly, use only high quality products.