Marina Romanova: Emergency event in St Petersburg

This September will be kept in mind of many St Petersburg citizens because of an unusual burst of poisonings in kindergartens of the city. Within ten days, 654 people addressed to doctors because of this reason. “The burst of acute upset stomach was registered in day nurseries and kindergarten of several city districts, Oleg Parkov, chief of epidemic section of St Petersburg sanitary inspectors centre, says. – In all, we have uncovered 598 cases among children and 46 cases among adults from medical servicemen. 419 people of this number are dysentery patients. That is the most scale poisoning in our city over recent 10 years. “Emergency” is the word to characterize this event.” An epidemic investigation was carried out at once. butter “Krestyanskoye” turned out to be carrier of the disease. The results of the expert examination have not been published yet, for the time being, epidemic inspectors prefer not to accuse any firms, though they state the butter is not being sold now. The investigation is being carried out. Who is guilty of the infected butter getting to kindergarten? It turned out, that the butter was certificated by the Quality Control Centre of Food and Cosmetics”. According to this centre’s chief Dmitry Matsievski, this kind of butter was produced in Ukraine. All the necessary documents were presented. Though the butter was not checked up, because the certificate system worked out in the USSR is unique for all CIS countries. So specialists of the centre just confirmed the quality of butter while issuing certain documents. According to the specialists, several years ago, when special food bases of so-called closed institutions were functioning in the city, an event like that was absolutely impossible. Food products arrived in the bases, than they were supplied to the closed institutions – to kindergartens, hospitals and so on. It was simple to control quality and the way of the products. Now this system is completely ruined. Instead, the city administration regularly organizes tenders among commerce firms which want to supply food. Therefore the whole series of middlemen appears, which makes the control process almost impossible. Apropos, the “Nevskie Molokoprodukty” firm (“Milk Products of Neva”) supplying butter “Krestyanskoe”, already were once engaged in a scandal story. It was also a butter case. This year the firm supplied the butter to “Artis” stock company, which directly supplies butter to kindergartens. According Valentina Andreeva, the director of kindergarten N 49, nobody asked kindergartens’ directors opinion when the tender was being carried out. They were just informed they would no more cooperate with the food bases. Why? Nobody could answer. Apropos, when the children were infected, somebody even said the source of infection had been the kindergarten knife. Though later the experts proved the kindergarten to be innocent. The case will be soon given over to the Public Prosecutor General of the city. Guilty persons will probably be punished. Though nobody could guarantee the same would not be repeated.

Marina Romanova PRAVDA.Ru St Petersburg