BAN ON JERMUK SALES IN USA PART OF CONSPIRACY
AZG Armenian Daily
14/03/2007
Eduard Aghajanov, an independent Armenian economist, claims that the
ban of U.S. health authorities on sales of Jermuk, Armenia’s most
famous and popular brand of mineral water is part of an economic
conspiracy, hatched to drive Armenian mineral water out of the
international market.
Last week the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ordered all
importers of Jermuk bottled mineral water to recall the product,
which is sold in California and other Armenian-populated parts of
the United States, saying that the water is contaminated with high
levels of arsenic, which is a known cause of cancer.
FDA said that water testing revealed consistence of 500 to 600
micrograms of arsenic per liter, which exceeds the FDA standard for
quality-bottled water. No more than 10 micrograms of arsenic per
liter is allowed by the US standard.
Following the FDA warning the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
has also warned the public not to consume any variety of Jermuk
mineral water, imported from Armenia. The importer of Jermuk to Canada,
which has a sizeable Armenian community, is voluntarily recalling the
product. CFIA said, however, there have been no reported illnesses
associated with the products.
However the Armenian economist, Eduard Aghajanov, claimed that ‘the
plot’ against Jermuk might have been engineered by Italy, France and
Germany, world’s leading producers of mineral water in retaliation to
Jermuk’s growing popularity worldwide ‘because this is a very lucrative
business as one liter of Jermuk costs higher than one liter of petrol."
The way out, according to Aghajanov, is to develop international
brands for Armenian mineral waters, but he added this will be a time
and money-consuming process. As an option he suggested cooperation
with a famous foreign company.