Owners of aqua farms can be required to microchip their sturgeon and indicate the source of their origin on the packaging. A similar initiative was made by the head of the Astrakhan region, Igor Babushkin. He believes that this will help avoid counterfeiting Astrakhan caviar.
It is estimated that the procedure can take anywhere from two to three years. For this, it is necessary to create genetic passports for caviar. The study of one individual will cost 15–20 thousand rubles.
According to “Astrakhan-24”, cases of product substitution have become more frequent lately. In particular, low-quality goods from China are sold under the guise of Astrakhan caviar. As a result, the image of conscientious manufacturers is damaged.
38 enterprises are engaged in commercial sturgeon breeding and obtaining raw caviar in the Astrakhan region. In 2018, they managed to get about 14 tons of caviar.
On December 24, it was reported that experts from Roskachestvo discovered antibiotics, preservatives and sorbic acid in sturgeon caviar. They assessed the quality of 14 Russian-made caviar trade marks and one each from Armenia and Belarus. Only one of them did not have any comments.