Radio Free Europe published an investigative report on businessman Lasha Papashvili’s farm, Kvarli Bagi, which produces raw milk and has come under scrutiny for feeding its cows with chicken litter, a practice banned in the European Union. The milk from Kvarlis Bagi is supplied to several well-known companies in Georgia, including Sante, Soflis Nobati, Agrohabi, and Kvarlis Bagi’s own subsidiary, Dairy Laboratory.
The controversy surrounds the purchase of chicken litter by Kvarlis Bagi from Chirina, a company formerly involved in supplying this controversial feed. In 2020, Papashvili filed a lawsuit against Chirina, alleging that the litter had caused significant damage to his livestock, resulting in the death of multiple cows. The loss was reported at 1.65 million Georgian Lari. Chirina disputed these claims, stating that it had sold the chicken litter as fertilizer, not animal feed.
In 2024, Papashvili won the lawsuit, and the court ruled that Chirina was liable for damages totaling 4.7 million Lari. As documents revealed, each cow at Kvarlis Bagi consumed approximately 6-7 kilograms of chicken litter per day, mixed with other feed. Initially, the case did not establish Chirina’s responsibility for the livestock deaths, but the appeal brought the case back to court.
In March 2024, Kvarlis Bagi withdrew the lawsuit from the Rustavi court and refiled it in Tbilisi.
Chirina’s owner expressed concerns over the shift of the case to Tbilisi, which, in his belief, indicated that the Papashvili brothers were potentially using political connections to influence the outcome.
In December 2024, the Tbilisi City Court ruled in favor of Kvarlis Bagi, after the farm presented laboratory evidence that the milk from the affected cows contained tetracycline, an antibiotic. This finding was crucial in the court’s decision, which linked the antibiotic contamination to the deaths of nearly 200 cows and condemned Chirina to cover the costs of replacing the animals and repaying loans taken to purchase new cattle.
However, the National Food Agency’s official letter reveals that tetracycline is not listed as a banned veterinary drug and is still used by farmers in Georgia. Kvarlis Bagi’s veterinarian reportedly administered tetracycline to treat the cows, which complicates the matter further. Chirina has denied using tetracycline in its chicken feed and claims it used other medications.
When asked about the matter, companies that purchase milk from Kvarlis Bagi were questioned about whether they tested each batch for antibiotics and whether they were aware that the cows were fed with European Union-banned chicken litter.
Soflis Nobati, owned by PepsiCo, responded that their records for that period were not preserved, but stated that any ingredient not meeting their quality standards would not be accepted into production.
Agrohabi also clarified that they were unaware of the chicken litter being used for cattle feed, but emphasized that they test all milk for antibiotics and reject any batches that do not meet their quality standards.
Sante revealed that it had detected antibiotic contamination in the milk from Kvarlis Bagi in 2018, which led them to stop accepting their milk and using it in production.
Following his legal victory in December 2024, Lasha Papashvili, a known supporter of the ruling Georgian Dream party, gave an interview where he praised the leadership of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the former Prime Minister, for steering the country away from war and helping the country in economic development. Papashvili remarked, “It is thanks to Georgian Dream that we have peace, the economy is growing… Our country is moving towards Europe. Don’t you think so? We should forgive mistakes, whoever our leader is, we should forgive… Bidzina Ivanishvili has already entered history.”
In January 2025, in a related case, a group of theater professionals returned the prestigious Duruji award to Papashvili’s Redix Group after the release of Papashvili’s interview where he praised Ivanishvili distancing themselves from him.
