Mykolaiv's education department confirmed that maggots were found in the school's porridge: «I regret that we threw it away immediately»

The head of the education department, Hanna Lychko (pictured right), confirmed that maggots were found in the school's porridge, photo by NikVesti

In the first days of September, maggots were found in the porridge at a school in Mykolaiv. This information was confirmed today, on 19 September, by the head of the Mykolaiv Education Department, Hanna Lychko, in response to a question from the journalist NikVesti.

She said that the incident took place in one of the schools in the Zavodskyi district of the city, but it is not known which one. It is worth noting that the editorial office of NikVesti received appeals from parents of students of several schools in the city who reported this incident, attaching photos and videos, but this information has not been officially confirmed until now.

«About 5 school heads called me and said that it happened in their schools. I say it did not happen at their school. It happened in one of our schools in Zavodskyi district. This maggot was seen. The only thing I wish was that it hadn't been thrown into the trash immediately. I wish they had kept it. They just took it and threw it away. When I received this information, I called Petro Petrovych, they had delivered this kulesh, and the same batch of food was delivered to the MPE-C as to all educational institutions. They have the same supplier. They came to the city and delivered to the facilities that the utility company had identified. The utility company began to open the bags of this cereal at their premises, looking for it. They said they found nothing in them. The educational institution where the incident occurred went to open the bags in the kitchen,» said Hanna Lychko.

In response, Petro Vasheniak, director of the municipal enterprise for catering in educational institutions, said that the cereal had been checked at all facilities, and «it was nowhere to be found.

«But it was a fact, it was on the fork. I regret that they threw it away immediately,» Hanna Lychko replied.

A photo of a maggot on a fork in a school canteen in Mykolaiv, which the NikVesti editorial office received on 10 September

When asked by the journalist of NikVesti whether any work had been done with the supplier, Petro Vasheniak said that «everything was of high quality».

«Yes, there is video and photos, and the head of the department confirms that it happened,» the journalist said.

«This maggot is not from cereal. It can't be maggots, if you understand what it is...,» said Petro Vasheniak.

«It would have boiled, dissolved,» continued Deputy Mayor Anatolii Petrov.

«Yes, maybe it fell down, maybe someone put it there,» said the MPE-C representative.

«Maybe it's a school joke? We already thought so,» said the vice mayor of Mykolaiv.

«You know, these maggots are sold in a fishing shop. If anyone understands, when you put them on a hook, they explode,» said Petro Vasheniak.

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When asked by the media whether the maggot «could have fallen» into the porridge, Anatolii Petrov admitted that it was possible.

«It either fell off something or was put there. It must have come from somewhere. It can't grow in the finished dish in 25 minutes. We all saw the maggots, there are a lot of questions here,» said Anatolii Petrov.

Complaints about food in Mykolaiv schools

Parents complain about the quality of food in Mykolaiv schools, photo: Anna Shevchenko

Earlier, parents of Mykolaiv schoolchildren expressed dissatisfaction with free meals on social media. According to them, the portions were smaller than normal, the meals were served cold, and the dishes in the school canteens were dirty.

Petro Vasheniak, director of the municipal production enterprise for catering (MPE-C) in Mykolaiv educational institutions, said he had personally checked the situation, particularly at school 41, where parents complained about the amount of food on the plate. According to him, the portions were in line with the standards, but in the photo, part of the dish was hidden - for example, a chicken nugget was lying on top of potatoes.

Later, the State Food and Consumer Service of Mykolaiv stated that they had not received any complaints about poor quality food in the city's school canteens.

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Meanwhile, the mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Sienkevych, responded to the parents' complaints by saying that a special commission would be set up in the city with representatives of the city council to monitor the situation.

Following the incident, the Main Department of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection in Mykolaiv region checked the food served to children in 15 schools in the city. Experts analysed photo reports of the meals served to students.

As a reminder, in Mykolaiv, parents of pupils at Mykola Arkas Lyceum, which is temporarily operating on the basis of gymnasium №39, complain about problems with food in the canteen. According to them, the children are served portions that were not finished by the students of the gymnasium.

It is known that in the new school year, all pupils from grades 1 to 11 will be provided with free meals in Mykolaiv schools. The funding for meals will be shared: up to 70% of the costs will be covered by the state, and the rest by the city budget.