Ninety children among victims of mass food poisoning in eastern Siberia

The number of people poisoned by finished food products from the company “Vostok” in Ulan-Ude, the capital of the Russian Republic of Buryatia in eastern Siberia, has risen to 159, including 90 children, the republic's health ministry told TASS.

“As of October 23, 159 cases have been registered, of which 90 are children. A total of 82 people, including 51 children, are currently receiving inpatient treatment at the Republican Clinical Infectious Disease Hospital,” the ministry reported.

The first cases appeared on the evening of October 18, when people began seeking medical help with symptoms of food poisoning. Shortly before that, the victims had eaten ready-made food produced by “Vostok” and purchased at “Nikolaevsky” stores.

According to the regional branch of Rospotrebnadzor in Buryatia, serious violations of sanitary and epidemiological regulations were found in the company’s ready-made food production facility. Following these findings, the Zheleznodorozhny District Court of Ulan-Ude ordered “Vostok” to suspend operations for 90 days.

A criminal case has been opened under Part 1 of Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation — production and sale of goods that fail to meet safety standards and pose risks to consumers’ health or lives. The head of the ready-made food production facility has been detained as part of the investigation.

By Tamilla Hasanova