School meals in Mykolaiv region will be fully controlled by artificial intelligence

In the Mykolaiv region, they plan to have an AI assistant fully monitor school meals: the system will automatically analyse menus and photos of dishes, recording violations and shortcomings.

This was reported in a story by Suspilne Mykolaiv, according to NikVesti.

As is known, a pilot digital project to monitor the quality of food in schools has been launched in the Mykolaiv region. Parents and students can quickly report food problems via a Telegram bot. Testing will continue from 19 February to 19 May.

«Today we have an experimental version that still needs to be tested and refined to make it as simple and user-friendly as possible. Currently, the system works as follows: there are five steps, you can select a community, an educational institution, describe your request and add a photo. This request, together with the photo, is then processed in the system, after which it is reviewed by the administrator. We do not influence the decision, as we have prepared technological charts and photos of menus provided to us by the State Food and Consumer Service and the educational institutions themselves. Based on this information, the system has a database with which it further processes and compares the results. The system is currently operating in semi-automatic mode in order to refine unnecessary steps and actions that may interfere with its operation,» according to Viacheslav Bazarenko, deputy head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration for Digital Development.

According to him, there are plans to switch the system to fully automatic mode in the future: each photo will be processed by an AI assistant, which will be able to detail and analyse it.

«Next, we plan to switch the system to fully automatic mode, with each photo being processed by an AI assistant that will be able to detail and analyse it. This implementation is planned after our concept is confirmed and the general working mechanics of the process are worked out, so to speak. It is important to note that the Tsyfra team is not the main player in this project. As the technical team, we took on the task of gathering all the processes, preparing the technical specifications, working out the business processes, the logic of the system, the instructions for submitting information from the State Food and Consumer Service, and the methodology for submitting data from educational institutions. We also conducted training in a work chat, which had over 70 participants who are involved in this project at various stages. A significant amount of time was devoted to communication so that all participants understood how the system should look and work in the end,» added Viacheslav Bazarenko.

In turn, Larysa Burdenko, head of the department of state supervision of compliance with sanitary legislation of the Main Directorate of the State Food and Consumer Service in the Mykolaiv region, said that the chatbot allows analysing the number of requests from parents and the frequency of their receipt.

«We work through a chatbot: when we receive a complaint from parents, we can immediately compare the information with the menu we have approved and also assess the appearance of the dishes. If we see a threat to children's health, we can organise a quick and prompt response and inspection of the facility through the work of the commission. If it is only a matter of certain violations, the chatbot allows us to analyse how many times complaints have been received from parents and how many there are. This helps, for example, to understand that children may not like a certain dish and to adjust the menu accordingly. Ultimately, this is necessary to ensure that our children eat high-quality, tasty and healthy food,» said Larysa Burdenko.

According to her, if there are violations, a special group is sent to the site.

"If there are violations that are immediately obvious, a special team is promptly dispatched to the site. But based on the information we have received so far, there have been no such cases. In other cases, for example, if the appearance of the dishes is not liked, explanations are provided and the data is recorded — where and to which establishments the most complaints were received. Then, a commission may inspect all establishments to bring everything into compliance and meet the needs of children. If a serious violation is found, such as mould in food or food that does not meet standards and may pose a direct threat, a group is immediately formed in accordance with Vitaliy Kim's order to investigate the matter, added Larysa Burdenko.

In turn, Alla Velikhovska, head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration's Department of Education, said that today, in accordance with the technological model, there are plans to additionally introduce support kitchens in eight general secondary education institutions and basic kitchens in 250 institutions. Modernisation is currently underway in 28 institutions: 24 of them are based on the basic kitchen model and four on the support kitchen model.

«Gradually, in the conditions in which we live today, food reform is being implemented. It is clear that the city and other communities are facing a problem: there are a lot of students in the institutions, and the food units, built back in those days, are not designed for such a number. At the same time, they must provide food in accordance with the new requirements. The requirements are as follows: meals must be served to students within 45 minutes of preparation. Where the institution does not have its own kitchen, catering services are used to deliver hot, ready-made meals, which must also take place within 45 minutes. It is very difficult to organise this in our conditions. Most communities today are coping and doing very well. Because the food is healthy, not all children want to eat what is offered to them. But I want to emphasise that these standards were not developed by the education system,» added Alla Velikhovska.

The Prossecco 8 case in court

The preventive measure for Iryna Stoieva and Petro Vasheniak was to be chosen on 29 December. However, the motion could not be considered. The judge adjourned the case and was to return to its consideration the next day, 30 December. But on that day, the court did not take place due to the judge's illness.

On 12 January, she was suspended from office until 20 February. Then, from 12 to 13 January, the Central District Court considered the motion to impose a preventive measure on him. More than 20 errors were found in the investigation materials in court, which had to be stopped several times for review.

On 14 January, the court arrested Vasheniak with the possibility of bail set at 242,240 hryvnias, and the next day, 15 January, Iryna Stoieva. In court, Stoieva stated that she plans to demand reimbursement of the funds that the company spent on organising meals in schools in Mykolaiv.

Subsequently, the defendants in the case concerning catering in Mykolaiv schools were released from the detention centre on bail of almost 500,000 hryvnias. The bail amount for both suspects is the same and amounts to 242,240 hryvnias.

Catering for schoolchildren in Mykolaiv

On 9 December, NikVesti showed the process of providing meals to some of the city's schools, which are prepared by the private company Prosecco 8, which received a catering contract from the municipal enterprise. The children's parents said that the children did not receive breakfast on Monday, and the food was only delivered after lunch.

The footage showed company employees cooking porridge on the street under a tent in the rain.

Vitalii Kim, a member of the Mykolaiv City Council and head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration, responded to the scandal. After that, the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Mykolaiv region opened a criminal case regarding violations of the rules for preparing food for students in city schools.

Only in the evening did Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych respond to the video. The mayor called the situation unacceptable and initiated an investigation.

In turn, Mykolaiv City Council deputy Tetiana Dombrovska called the scandal with the new catering for schoolchildren a failure of the authorities. She is demanding the dismissal of Deputy Mayor Anatolii Petrov and ME Director Petro Vasheniak.

Due to the detected signs of violation of the law in the field of public procurement, the State Audit Service has launched an investigation into the procurement of catering services for educational institutions in Mykolaiv.

It should be noted that the Mykolaiv City Council decided to engage a private contractor after public outcry over the quality of school meals. At the end of November, the municipal enterprise selected the company Prossecco 8, which will deliver food to some of the city's schools throughout December. During the open tender, Prossecco 8 was the only participant and winner of the competition for the organisation of catering services. The price of the services amounted to 14 million 279 thousand 658 hryvnias.

On the morning of 12 December, employees of the Strategic Investigations Department of the Mykolaiv region, together with the police, conducted searches at Prossecco 8 LLC, the Department of Education, and the municipal catering company.

The searches were conducted as part of criminal proceedings under Part 4 of Article 191 — appropriation or embezzlement of property on an especially large scale or committed by an organised group.

Subsequently, on 23 December, the suspects in the scandal concerning the organisation of catering for schoolchildren in Mykolaiv were served with notices of suspicion.

The head of the enterprise, Iryna Stoieva, was charged with violating the rules and regulations established to prevent infectious diseases, which could have led to their spread, as well as with attempted embezzlement of property through abuse of official position during martial law on an especially large scale (Part 1 of Article 325, Part 3 of Article 15, Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

Petro Vasheniak was notified of suspicion of a completed attempt to embezzle someone else's property by abusing his official position under martial law (Part 2 of Article 15, Part 4 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

On 29 December, the court was to choose a preventive measure for the director of Prossecco 8 LLC, Iryna Stoieva, and the head Petro Vasheniak. The prosecutor's office emphasised the need to arrest both of them. However, on 30 December, the Central District Court of Mykolaiv postponed the hearing on the choice of a preventive measure for the defendants in the school catering case.

From 12 to 13 January, the Central District Court of Mykolaiv considered a motion to impose a preventive measure on Petro Vasheniak, head of the municipal production enterprise for the organisation of catering in educational institutions. More than 20 errors were found in the investigation materials in court, which had to be paused several times for review.

The court moved to impose a preventive measure in the form of detention on 12 January after the official was suspended. At the beginning of the hearing, the defence submitted materials to the case which, in its opinion, confirm the innocence of its client, a number of character references and letters of thanks addressed to Petro Vasheniak.

Who is the company that received ₴14 million for school meals connected to?

According to data from the YouControl system, the company Prossecco 8, which was selected as a subcontractor, was registered in Mykolaiv in 2023 and has a registered capital of one thousand hryvnias. The company's activities are multifaceted: they include providing mobile catering services, renting sports and leisure equipment, operating sports facilities, providing hairdressing and beauty salon services, and others. The owner of the company is Iryna Stoieva.

NikVesti found out that Iryna Stoieva is also associated with another organisation — BBV 2021 LLC. The register of court decisions contains a 2023 court ruling on bringing her to administrative responsibility for violating the procedure established by law for conducting settlements in the field of trade, public catering, and services. Iryna Stoieva is listed in the document as the manager of BBV 2021 LLC. The case concerned unaccounted-for surplus alcohol and cigarettes in a café in the Zavodskyi district of Mykolaiv.

The YouControl system indicates that the head of this Mykolaiv limited liability company «BBV 2021» is Borys Berestnev, who is the son of the head of the Propozytsia faction in the Mykolaiv City Council and the head of the Inhulskyi District Administration, Hanna Remennikova.

It should be noted that Hanna Remennikova's family owns two popular restaurants in Mykolaiv: Daily and Daily Sport. According to information obtained by the editorial staff of NikVesti, Iryna Stoieva works at one of them.

The decision to involve a private company in organising school meals was previously commented on by the mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Sienkevych. In his Telegram channel, the mayor announced that the city authorities would check the effectiveness of the catering service within a month.

Press conference on the incident with school meals: main statements

Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych said that they knew about the contractor's violations in the preparation and delivery of school meals as early as Monday, 8 December, but did not respond publicly because he was at a municipal forum that day.

According to the mayor, some schools refused to accept this food, and some of the prepared meals were not sent from the Prossecco 8 company at all.

When asked by journalists why Oleksandr Sienkevych only reacted to the incident after the publication of the video by NikVesti, the mayor explained that he «did not have the physical strength» to do so.

In turn, Iryna Stoieva, director of Prossecco 8 LLC, whose company was supposed to provide catering services for children in Mykolaiv schools, explained that on the first day, there was a breakdown in production due to power outages.

According to Stoieva, the company experienced a force majeure situation. Due to the lack of electricity, the generator did not work and the equipment broke down.

In addition, she said that sanitary standards were violated by the cook himself, who decided to open the thermal box and stir the couscous in the open air. He has already been punished for this.