MOSCOW, September 15. /TASS/. The final penalty amount following inspection of French retail chain Auchan in the Moscow Region exceeded 25 mln rubles ($373,000), Head of the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) Anna Popova said on Tuesday, adding that the inspection is now over.

"Moscow inspection is over, the total penalty amount exceeded 25 mln rubles," she said.

The watchdog launched checks at the Auchan chain in Moscow in mid-June. The results of the inspections were unveiled in early September. The watchdog found a number of violations, including prolonged expiration dates in the meat products and use of expired salami to cook pizzas. Besides, beef and pork in Auchan contained wrong animal DNA, it said. Inspection also detected listeria in chilled meat products as well as exceeding number of coliform bacteria, which can lead to food poisoning of different severity, enteritis, enterocolitis, combined with the syndrome of intoxication, the regulator said.

On August 11, Auchan stopped the work of butchers in 4 hypermarkets in the Moscow region, where violations were found.