A cook and two assistants were fired after a mass food poisoning at Seitek STEM school. Mira Kurmanova, deputy chief physician at the Bishkek Center for State Sanitary and Epidemiological Supervision, announced on Birinchi Radio.
According to her, the school has medical staff involved in developing the menu. A list of prohibited foods has been posted.
«If salads are included in the menu for children, they should contain no more than three vegetables dressed with oil. Spices, sauces, ketchup, mayonnaise, concentrates, and flavor enhancers are not allowed in children’s food. Everything must be natural; salt and sugar are not recommended for serving on the tables, as is the case in other food service establishments,» Mira Kurmanova said.
School medicine expert Baktygul Zhumagulova added that children themselves do not know which foods are healthy and which are unhealthy. Therefore, a major role in this regard rests with adults.
«I believe that not all private school staff undergo training at the Institute for Retraining and Advanced Training. Currently, there are many new approaches in both nutrition and service,» she noted.
The expert added that private schools report solely to the Ministry of Education.
It was noted that the Center for State Sanitary and Epidemiological Supervision can inspect private schools once a year. If educational institutions comply with all regulations and rules, they can be inspected every two or three years.
«We try to inspect annually, after all, we’re talking about children. As for the Seitek STEM school, it was registered in 2023 and is in its second year of operation. According to the law, we are not allowed to inspect newly opened facilities for three years,» Mira Kurmanova noted.
At least 84 people, including four teachers, got food poisoning at Seitek STEM private school on October 31. Thirteen people were hospitalized, while the rest received outpatient care. The patients were later discharged.
For failure to comply with sanitary regulations, the school administration was fined two times, totaling 28,000 soms. The food service area is closed pending laboratory test results.
