Yerevan vendor defies shutdown order after alleged food safety violations, exposing loophole

A popular street vendor in downtown Yerevan selling shawarma is refusing to comply with an inspection agency’s order to shut down operations, following the alleged discovery of serious food contamination by the Food Safety Inspection Body.

The vendor, Zaviki Ghars, has been avoiding direct receipt of the shutdown notice, effectively delaying enforcement without technically breaking the law. According to agency spokesperson Anush Harutyunyan, the order has now been sent via registered mail. If the vendor continues operating after officially receiving the notice by mail, which is expected today, without implementing the required improvements, it could face a fine of up to 400,000 drams per day. “They refused to receive the order in-person and told us to send it by mail,” she said.

Notably, the Food Safety Inspection Body does not have direct enforcement authority to physically shut down the vendor, and can only impose fines in such cases. It could theoretically request police intervention in certain cases but imposing the hefty fine is seemingly more effective. 

In a social media statement, Zaviki Ghars went as far as accusing the inspection agency of falsifying the contamination findings—an allegation the agency firmly denies.

On October 8, the Food Safety Inspection Body reported that laboratory tests on pork and chicken shawarma samples from the vendor revealed contamination with:

Mesophilic Aerobic and Facultative Anaerobic Microorganisms
Coliform Bacteria
E. coli
Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus)
Pathogenic Salmonella spp.

Additionally, a mayonnaise sample used by the vendor tested positive for mesophilic bacteria, coliforms, S. aureus, and pathogenic salmonella, according to the inspection agency.