You can not eat: in Russia they want to introduce security checks for each batch of social food

In Russia, they want to tighten checks on social nutrition amid the increasing number of cases of mass poisoning. It is proposed to check every batch entering schools, kindergartens, hospitals and other similar institutions. Currently, the control is selective and does not fully prevent violations. Among the latest cases are the poisoning of two children's hockey teams in Irkutsk and children in a camp on Sakhalin. The Rosselkhoznadzor Public Council has submitted an initiative to the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture. The problem is also recognized in the State Duma, drawing attention to the significant government spending on such meals.

Why do they want to strengthen the fight against unsafe food

In Russia, they propose to strengthen control over the supply of food to schools, hospitals and other social institutions. In particular, the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade are invited to consider the possibility of verifying each batch of products with the inclusion of test results in traceability information systems. The Ministry of Agriculture should legislate the right of customers and control bodies to inspect manufacturers and suppliers of social nutrition. In addition, social activists suggest that all three departments organize centralized quality control of raw materials. This follows from the minutes of the last meeting of the Rosselkhoznadzor Public Council, which is available to "Izvestia".

Photo: IZVESTIA/Polina Violet

The document, with reference to Tatyana Balagul, head of the Rosselkhoznadzor's State Veterinary Supervision Department, says that despite the supply control measures being taken today, violations of food quality and safety requirements continue to be detected. In particular, we are talking about changing the expiration dates, the supply of goods without information about the raw materials used, as well as products that have not passed the safety confirmation procedure. """""""" In this regard, the representative of the Rosselkhoznadzor proposed to additionally analyze the activities of suppliers in the Mercury, Vesta and Cerberus systems of the FGIS VetIS when concluding contracts for the supply of food.

In addition, in her opinion, it is necessary to exclude the possibility of receiving shipments of controlled goods to social institutions for which there is no traceability data based on veterinary certification in the "Mercury" component, as well as to provide for denial of access to participate in supplies to organizations that have been caught in counterfeiting and counterfeiting.

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Instead of beef, children are given chicken, and butter is replaced with margarine.

According to the document, another proposal was the introduction of automatic systems for blocking illegal products, as well as increasing business responsibility through mandatory expertise and quality control.

According to Sergey Maslov, a member of the Rosselkhoznadzor Public Council, the requirements for laboratory tests and traceability should be fixed by law. In his opinion, the proposed measures will ensure the safety and quality of products for socially vulnerable categories of citizens, increase confidence in the social sphere and reduce the risks of supplying substandard products.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Polina Violet

At the same time, Council member Galina Yurova noted the need to legislate the concept of "social nutrition". In her opinion, this will make it possible to establish common standards and conclude common regional contracts, as well as to remove food purchases from the scope of Articles 4 and 5 of 44-FZ, allocating them to a separate clause without reference to restrictions on the maximum amount of the contract.

"Izvestia" sent inquiries to the largest suppliers, as well as to the Rosselkhoznadzor, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Economic Development. The press service of the Ministry of Industry and Trade refrained from commenting.

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The standards for school canteens allow suppliers not to feed children the necessary products.

According to the protocol of the Public Council, due to systemic problems with the quality and safety of social nutrition, the State Duma has prepared a draft law "On the basics of providing and organizing social nutrition in the Russian Federation." Among other things, the new standards should establish uniform requirements for the quality of products.

— The state invests about 80 billion federal rubles and about 20 billion regional rubles in child nutrition. Of course, for this money we want our children to be fed with high quality," explained Tatiana Butskaya, one of the authors of the bill, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Family Protection, Fatherhood, Motherhood and Childhood, to "Izvestia" the importance of the initiative.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Sergey Vinogradov

According to her, cases of mass poisoning in social institutions are still being recorded in Russia.

Why aren't there fewer poisonings?

Food supplies to social institutions — schools, kindergartens, hospitals, social centers and boarding schools — are carried out within the framework of public procurement under Law No. 44-FZ "On the contract system for the procurement of goods, works, and services for state and Municipal Needs." "RBE" Group (RBE LLC), "KorpusGroup", "Caterinburg" and other companies are among the largest suppliers of social catering. The editors sent them inquiries.

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Dozens of pupils of preschool institutions in a city near Moscow were hospitalized after lunch in canteens

Cases of mass poisoning after taking social food in Russia occur regularly. In September alone, several such incidents occurred. For example, a criminal case was opened in Sakhalin after the poisoning of children at a health camp. Poisoning of children hockey players who came from Novosibirsk for matches was recorded in Irkutsk. Another criminal case was opened after the poisoning of schoolchildren in the Kuban.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Polina Violet

—We at the OPI consistently advocate for stricter liability in connection with frequent cases of food adulteration, as well as violations of quality and safety requirements when supplied to social institutions," Oleg Pavlov, head of the Public Consumer Initiative, explained to Izvestia.

According to him, without increasing responsibility, it is difficult to force businesses to comply with the requirements of the law. Even today, a number of suppliers systematically identify violations, but the punishment does not correspond to the amount of possible profit they receive.

The expert also called the development of digital product traceability tools an important factor, including labeling and automatic blocking when violations are detected.

Pavel Shapkin, Chairman of the National Consumer Rights Protection Union, was skeptical about the proposals to introduce additional control measures. In his opinion, additional analyses and inspections will require significant funds and will increase the burden on the control authorities. In addition, it is not always possible to determine the cause of poisoning.: it can occur, for example, due to non-compliance with hygiene rules or improper storage of products directly in the facility. Therefore, the expert believes, the inevitability of punishment should be a key factor.