Suraiyo Rakhmonova, the children's ombudsman of Uzbekistan, proposed to significantly strengthen control over food suppliers for kindergartens. She characterized the recent mass poisoning of children as a "threat to the gene pool of the nation." This statement was made at a meeting of the Legislative Chamber, where the incident in the Fergana region, which affected 62 children, was discussed.
According to Rakhmonova, food safety issues in preschool institutions have become systemic. In 2025, more than 1,900 cases of group illnesses were registered in 82 kindergartens in the Tashkent region. Large-scale inspections revealed serious violations of sanitary standards by outsourcing and catering companies supplying food for children. The ombudsman called for strict restrictions on unscrupulous suppliers, up to a complete ban on their activities in the social sphere.
The Sanitary and Epidemiological Committee of Uzbekistan confirmed that all cases of mass poisoning were linked to private entrepreneurs. In particular, more than a thousand children in the Tashkent region were poisoned by products from one of the dairy producers, which were purchased by three companies servicing children's institutions.
Currently, the activities of suppliers are monitored through a unified information system that prevents illegal unscheduled inspections. However, given the increased number of hospitalizations, the authorities plan to revise the mechanisms for controlling the quality of food in state institutions to avoid the recurrence of such crises in the future.
