The National Food Agency has released the final results of its monitoring in nursery kindergartens, stating that no violations were detected in the collected food samples. The inspection was conducted following an incident of mass intoxication among children.
“The results of laboratory testing on all 694 food samples of animal and non-animal origin across various product categories have been obtained. All of them fully comply with established food safety standards.
Following cases of norovirus gastroenteritis among children in Tbilisi kindergartens, the National Food Agency immediately initiated a comprehensive inquiry. Agency inspection teams checked kindergarten catering units, as well as meat and dairy production facilities.
As part of the monitoring, laboratory tests were carried out on various food items collected from kindergartens, including: fruits and vegetables; dairy products (cheese, milk powder, UHT drinking milk, butter, sour cream); meat and poultry products (beef and poultry); cereals, prepared dishes, and drinking water.
Testing covered parameters such as heavy metals, nitrates, microbiological indicators, and pathogens (aerobic microorganisms, coliform bacteria, Salmonella, Shigella, coagulase-positive staphylococci),” the agency said in a statement.
As a reminder, on September 18, children from public kindergartens were taken to medical facilities showing signs of suspected intoxication.
On the same day, the Investigation Service announced the launch of an investigation into the intoxication of 55 children and one educator across 20 Tbilisi kindergartens under Part 2 of Article 198 of the Criminal Code of Georgia (production or sale of products hazardous to human life or health, resulting in a threat to life or health). It later emerged that more than 100 children required hospitalization.
On September 20, the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC) issued a statement noting that laboratory test results indicated that “with a high degree of probability, norovirus was the cause in the overwhelming majority of cases.”