In this paper the authors analyze actual case law of distinguishing between illegal businesses and selling goods that do not meet safety requirements while selling “dual use” alcohol products (cosmetic preparations and other household alcohol-based liquids). According to the current legislation and recommendations of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation regulations the authors figure out that the key of incorrect qualification in such cases lies in confusion of the concepts of “food safety” and “a source of danger”. The authors are of the opinion, that denatured additives as such do not represent a threat to life and health of human beings, since the aim of the technological process of adding the denatured alcohol into alcohol-containing liquid is not to do harm to health, but, conversely, to prevent the harm of technical liquids, through deterioration of their organoleptic qualities. Taking into consideration the above, the authors propose the following algorithm of delineation of the considered offenses: if the objective and subjective side of the offence point out that a person carries out an independent activity at his/her own risk aimed at getting systematic profit from the sale of “dual use” alcohol products without registration or a required license, such activities should be determined as illegal business operations. To prove that the act has all elements of a crime referred to as “sale of goods which do not meet safety requirements” it is necessary to determine that the distributor performed such activities as storage, transportation of alcohol products produced for household needs for the purpose of marketing or selling fully understand the consumers” intention to use it for nutrition.