Grief is not food: why schoolchildren in Komi suffer from intestinal infections
In early February 2026, several schools and kindergartens in Syktyvkar were quarantined due to cases of acute intestinal infection. At the same time, information appeared in the media about problems with school meals — allegedly the children were served unroasted meat, after which the students felt unwell. A criminal case has been opened, but it is too early to say that it is the catering operator who is to blame for the children's illnesses. However, even without this, there are claims against the company, especially since in Syktyvkar, food is almost everywhere organized by the municipal enterprise "Rapture". Read more about the situation in the Izvestia article.
How many schools are closed in Syktyvkar
A series of quarantines due to acute intestinal infection (AKI) in Syktyvkar schools began at the end of 2025, but the situation worsened in February. All or part of the educational process was suspended in at least 10 schools and a number of preschool institutions. On February 10, five schools were closed: № 22, 35, 21, 12 and Komi National Gymnasium.
On February 10, School No. 12 was quarantined. It was at this school that problems with acute intestinal infection were noted back in November 2025, when it was already being quarantined. Rospotrebnadzor stated that they had identified the source of acute intestinal infection, but did not specify which one. A similar statement was made this time.
There were reports in the media that educational institutions went into quarantine after schoolchildren complained about half-cooked meat in their dishes. It was after eating that the students allegedly started experiencing severe abdominal pain and other symptoms of poisoning.
Against this background, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case under Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation — "provision of services that do not meet safety requirements." He was taken under control by the chairman of the TFR, Alexander Bastrykin.
However, the head of Syktyvkar administration Maxim Martyshin denied information about the mass closure of schools in the city for quarantine.
"The decision to close and open schools for quarantine is made by Rospotrebnadzor based on the number of cases. Schools are being quarantined due to seasonal viral diseases for a period of seven days, and not indefinitely, as reported in unreliable information. Regarding the issues of poor—quality nutrition, which were reported on social networks, it was established that the facts of poisoning of children have not been confirmed," he said.
According to him, the situation is under constant control, preventive measures have been strengthened, and "the drinking regime has been taken under special control." Martyshin stated that the infection has a "viral origin." He cites "unwashed hands, crowding and the season" as the main reason.
According to him, the news about raw meat is "accompanied by old photos" from January. Then Rospotrebnadzor "conducted surveys in canteens and found no serious violations."
The Syktyvkar administration explained to Izvestia that in all quarantined schools, the proportion of cases is less than 1% of the total number of students. And the cause of the problems is seen in the children themselves.
— The closure of schools is not related to problems with catering. All cases of acute intestinal infections in quarantined schools are associated with a virus that spreads due to non—compliance with personal hygiene rules," said Larisa Turkova, deputy head of Syktyvkar administration.
So far, an epidemiological investigation is being conducted with respect to nine food processing facilities (including the workshop) of SMUP PiT Rapture, and only one of them can be said for sure that no violations have been found there. There are no results yet for eight more sites. In relation to 11 more facilities, prescriptions were issued for preventive measures — examination, general cleaning, disinfection, etc. Four orders were issued to suspend employees from production for epidemiological reasons until a positive conclusion is received from a doctor.
Izvestia also sent a request to the Office of Rospotrebnadzor in the Komi Republic.
Why quarantine is being opened due to intestinal infections
Olga Shuppo, founder and scientific director of the Grand Clinic network of immunorehabilitation, adaptive and preventive medicine clinics, explained to Izvestia that acute intestinal infections can be caused by viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi — they all affect the gastrointestinal tract.
— There can be many causes of AKI: salmonellosis, dysentery, norovirus, rotavirus infections, etc., — she said. — They are transmitted mainly by the fecal-oral route due to insufficient hand hygiene, food and water handling, violations of food storage conditions, and the use of expired products. Having established what caused the infectious outbreak, a bacterium or a virus, it is possible to determine the root cause. These could be violations of sanitary and hygienic standards in public catering, or one of the infections that quickly flare up and spread in children's groups.
Valery Alekseev, head of the Investigation Bureau of the Popular Front, emphasizes that quarantine is introduced if there are signs of a mass infection, but the reason is unclear.
— The causative agent of infection can be brought by a teacher, a child, and a food store employee, and spread outside the cafeteria. Even through a dirty water cooler on one of the floors," the Izvestia source noted.
Vladimir Chernigov, President of the Institute of Industrial Nutrition, emphasized that so far we are talking about a "food incident", the causes of which have yet to be clarified.
— It seems to me doubtful that the reason is food, as the range of cases of acute intestinal infection is too wide. Too much food should have been cooked in violation," he said. — However, this is a security issue, so at least we need to clarify what is happening, which is what the Investigative Committee will be doing.
He added that complaints about unroasted cutlets indicate problems with production technology that may be related to the human factor. Such complaints should be recorded and dealt with, but not on a one—time basis, but systematically - why do the same problems regularly occur in the same place?
Unprofitable "Rapture"
Complaints about "half-baked cutlets" do occur regularly in Syktyvkar, and they are repeated in the same schools. So, in 2025, such signals came from schools No. 1 and No. 22. In January 2026, he graduated from school No. 21. Parents and children pointed out the pink color of the minced meat and the "raw" taste. The catering operator, SMUP PIT Rapture— explained this by the "high content of myoglobin in meat." Nevertheless, they promised to replace the meat supplier at that time.
The municipal enterprise SMUP PiT "Rapture" has been a key operator of school meals in Syktyvkar for at least the last 10 years. Rapture has been successfully participating in tenders for feeding children since 2011, according to the Rusprofile service. Since then, the company has won at least 629 purchases out of 658 for a total amount of 626 million rubles. The company serves a significant part of the city's schools and kindergartens, working in their food halls and through its own semi-finished products workshop. At the same time, by the end of 2024, the company's losses amounted to 12 million rubles.
In 2025, Rospotrebnadzor conducted repeated inspections of facilities associated with Rapture. According to the results of one of them, salmonella DNA was detected in chicken meat that was used in September 2025. But in January 2026, on the eve of a new series of quarantines, Rospotrebnadzor did not conduct unscheduled inspections of food stores.
The head of Syktyvkar, Maxim Martyshin, separately indicated that another operator was working in schools in the Ezhvinsky district of the city, where outbreaks of the disease also occurred.
As the Syktyvkar administration explained to Izvestia, SMUP PiT Rapture organizes meals in 28 schools, which is 78% of all educational organizations in the city.
Each of the schools has a two-week menu. Every month, the dishes and the raw materials used to prepare these dishes are tested in accredited laboratories. They study physico-chemical parameters, microbiological parameters, and the content of harmful substances.
The administration emphasizes that SMUP PiT Rapture checks the safety of food products "from production to sale." From November 2025 to January 2026, SMUP PiT "Rapture" conducted six studies of raw materials for compliance with regulatory documents on safety indicators, five studies on semi-finished products, 16 studies on finished products, three studies on flushing. No violations were detected during laboratory tests, Larisa Turkova said.
She added that the Department of Education of the Syktyvkar Municipal District Administration also checks the quality of school meals as part of the work of the screening commissions, going to schools with scheduled and unscheduled quality checks of the dishes provided. In 2025, there were more than 50 such school visits.
There is also parental public control: moms and dads of students come to schools, take samples, and talk with teachers and educators. During the 2025/2026 academic year, 233 such inspections were carried out.
Izvestia also sent a request to SMUP PiT Rapture.
Elena Ivanova, executive secretary of the regional branch of the National Parent Association (Komi Republic), head of the coordinating council of the parent community for the control of public catering in educational organizations at the People's Front, said that Rapture had not received mass complaints about the quality of food. According to her, the company fulfills the requirements as much as possible "in conditions of a severely limited budget and a constant increase in food prices."
Regarding the quarantine situation in a number of schools, she stressed that the competent authorities should determine the assessment of the situation and the source of infection.
— During public raids, we ourselves do not have the right to enter the food hall, since the public health inspectors do not have medical books. Therefore, during our inspections, filling out checklists, we limit ourselves only to communicating with the heads of food stores," she noted.
Independent control is important
Elena Ivanova stated that it is necessary to "strengthen public control by the parent committees of educational organizations, as well as the public of the city — deputies and the public chamber of the municipality."
Valery Alekseev noted that catering through a municipal enterprise is a fairly common scheme for building a catering system in the regions.
— It is correct to provide additional independent control in such cases. For example, there is a separate laboratory in Moscow that checks the supply of products using a continuous method — that is, all meat, milk and a number of other products undergo mandatory independent laboratory control. The same should be done not only with food, but also with ready meals," the Izvestia interlocutor noted.
Vladimir Chernigov also stressed that it is very important for the regions to pay attention to the methodological recommendations that the Ministry of Education sent to the regions at the end of January.
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