Georgia’s Food Safety Agency: no violations found in 129 food samples from kindergartens

No violations have been detected in 129 food samples collected from kindergartens as part of ongoing monitoring, Georgia’s National Food Agency said on Friday.

The samples included fruit and vegetables, dairy products, beef and chicken, meat products and cereals. Laboratory tests covered heavy metals, nitrates, microbiological indicators and pathogens, including Salmonella, Shigella, coliforms and coagulase-positive staphylococci.

The agency claims all 129 samples tested so far fully complied with established food safety standards, with no violations detected.

The National Food Agency launched a comprehensive investigation after alleged cases of norovirus-related gastroenteritis were reported among children at Tbilisi kindergartens.

Inspection teams have so far checked around 70 facilities, including public kindergartens, a meat-processing facility and a dairy products warehouse.

A total of 694 samples of various food products and drinking water have been collected for laboratory testing. The agency said the results will be released in stages as the analyses are completed.