Minister for Rural Development Sándor Fazekas ordered the stricter monitoring of imported wines on November 9, 2011. The stringent checks are justified by the large quantities of foreign wine entering the country.

The Central Agriculture Office (MgSzH) will check if wines correspond to food quality regulations at their first place of storage in Hungary: retail and wholesale outlets, distribution centres, cold stores and production facilities. The authorities will perform the checks, which are non-discriminative and based on risk assessment, not just at places of production, but also in storerooms, depots, cold stores and during transport.

The monitoring performed at the first place of storage in Hungary will also include the examination of documentation; invoices for the various items will be examined, as well as cellar records, transport documents and the results of laboratory tests. The experts will also take samples of the wines, which will be examined under laboratory conditions.

Checks will continue until the order is revoked.

(Press Office of the Ministry of Rural Development)