Sanitary and epidemiological service: there are practically no complaints from parents about food in kindergartens

September 2, Minsk. There are practically no complaints from parents about food in kindergartens, Alla Malakhova, head of the Department of Hygiene for Children and Adolescents of the Republican Center for Hygiene, Epidemiology and Public Health, told reporters, BelTA has learned.

“Meals in educational institutions are of a sparing, dietary nature. Throughout my practice, there have been only a few complaints about food in kindergartens. Parents are satisfied with the food in kindergartens,” said Alla Malakhova.

According to Elena Bogush, head of kindergarten No. 122 in Minsk, children receive absolutely safe, balanced and tasty food in kindergartens. The developed menu is coordinated with the sanitary service and approved by the head of the educational institution. The fact that there are practically no complaints from parents about the proposed menu is a great merit of the kindergarten workers, the head believes. Teachers use a variety of play techniques. For example, some children who do not like milk or dairy products refuse to eat white curd soufflé. “Educators call it hot ice cream. And under this name, children eat this dish with pleasure,” said Elena Bogush.

She also recalled that in preschool institutions, children are also provided with dietary nutrition, if necessary. If a child has certain diseases, parents bring a certificate from a pediatrician, and such children are given food with the exception of certain products.

As for school meals, there are more complaints from parents, Alla Malakhova noted. She believes that when developing exemplary diets, more attention should be paid to the taste preferences of schoolchildren. For example, in rural areas, children always eat the first course, and in families who live in cities, soups are practically abandoned. According to the head of the Department of Hygiene for Children and Adolescents, in schools it is not necessary to include soups in the exemplary rations every day, the same borscht can be practiced twice a week.

As Nadezhda Lukashevich, director of the trade and production communal unitary enterprise Minsk School Catering Plant, noted, over the summer period the plant developed a new menu for the academic year, which was hygienically assessed at the Minsk City Hygiene and Epidemiology Center. "Starting this year, we have committed to updating the school menu every quarter, taking into account seasonality, the preferences of children and parents, so that we have as much coverage as possible with school meals," she said.