KAZAN, August 22. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia's food standards agency in the Volga region's Tatarstan will not shut down seven McDonald's restaurants in the republic despite violations discovered during inspections, the regulator said on Friday.

“There are no grounds for prohibiting operation. There have been routine violations, and they can be easily corrected,” said Olga Fomicheva, an official of the regulator's branch in the Tatarstan republic, as the agency published results of hygiene infringements found in a first phase of inspections at McDonald's restaurants in the region.

“Some materials will be considered at our department while others will be referred to courts,” Fomicheva said. “Companies and officials will be liable to fines.”

Nine sets of proceedings have been opened after checks of 53 food samples, said supervisory body Rospotrebnadzor on Friday as inspectors began visits to cover all the chain's 11 outlets in Tatarstan's capital, Kazan.

Results of three laboratory tests had recorded chicken nuggets failing to meet sanitation standards and raising concerns over “microbiological parameters”, the agency said. “Two wipe samples from restaurants revealed coliform bacteria,” it added.

Inspections will continue at all McDonald's outlets in Tatarstan, Fomicheva said.

“There are 16 restaurants in Tatarstan, and all of them will be checked by the end of the year,” she said.

On Wednesday, Russian consumer watchdog Rospotrebnadzor filed administrative lawsuits against four McDonald’s restaurants in Moscow. Snap inspections from August 18-20 revealed many violations of sanitary regulations, the agency said, adding that legal proceedings had begun ahead of court hearings.

Among a Russia-wide network of some 430 outlets, inspections would branch out to other locations, a Rospotrebnadzor statement added.