Monitoring Begins in All Schools of Artashat to Inspect Food Sold

By the order of the head of the State Service for Food Safety, monitoring activities have commenced today in all schools of Artashat city.

Inspectors from the Ararat regional center and from Yerevan will check the sanitary and hygienic conditions of the school buffets/canteens, as well as the compliance of the food products sold with the requirements of the law on food safety in Armenia, along with the hygienic requirements listed in the Minister of Health's order No. 32-N from June 6, 2014, regarding the organization of student meals in educational institutions. This order clearly specifies which food products are prohibited from being sold in public educational establishments. The inspectors remind and warn the management of all schools in the republic every year at the beginning of the school year.

The process will be ongoing, with monitoring activities taking place until the end of the year in schools across all regions of the republic and in Yerevan.

It should be noted that yesterday, on October 15, the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 23 students from Artashat No. 5 School were hospitalized due to food poisoning.

The inspectors found that the children became ill after consuming pizza made with sausages produced and supplied by Anahit Vardanian. Samples of the pizza available at the school buffet were taken for laboratory examination.

Although no samples of the specific food item were discovered at the supplier's location, monitoring activities are also being carried out at the supplier's premises. The results of the laboratory tests will be known by the end of the week.