Kalinka kindergarten in Brajkovci served microbiologically unsafe food
Lab tests found Staphylococcus aureus, enterobacteria and other bacteria in meals served to children; the daycare was closed and fines issued.
Children from the Kalinka kindergarten in Brajkovci, Valandovo who were hospitalized in July with vomiting, diarrhoea and stomach problems were served microbiologically unsafe food, official test results show.
Laboratory analyses found enterobacteria and aerobic mesophilic bacteria in macaroni, while cow cheese tested positive for Staphylococcus aureus and its enterotoxin. The pathogenic bacterium Staphylococcus aureus was also detected in spaghetti with Bolognese sauce.
Samples, hospitalisations and administrative action
On 17 July, when six children from the kindergarten were admitted to Gevgelija hospital, the Institute for Public Health—acting at the order of the Food and Veterinary Agency—collected four food samples. The results showed the food was microbiologically unsafe and should not have been consumed.
A misdemeanor procedure was launched against the kindergarten as a legal entity and against its director as the responsible person. Fines for placing unsafe food on the market were issued and, according to the records, paid the same day.
Parents were reportedly not informed for months about exactly which items had been contaminated. After the incident the facility was closed and the children spent the summer at another kindergarten in Valandovo.
Director Gordana Kocheva told the Valandovo municipal council that the institution cannot determine medical causes for the children's condition and that hygiene checks of the kitchen and preparation surfaces produced negative findings.
On the day of the incident the director of Gevgelija hospital said six children from the same kindergarten were brought in with vomiting and diarrhoea. Five of them stayed overnight and were discharged after receiving intravenous fluids; the sixth child remained on infusion.
Photo: press material from the event
