The commissioners of the National Authority for Consumer Protection controlled over 450 kindergartens in the country during this period at the beginning of the school year. Of these, 45 units were temporarily closed.
More than half of the kindergartens were infested with cockroaches. Photo source: archive
Cockroaches, unhygienic kitchens, dirty stoves, rusty refrigerators, faulty sockets, moldy and damp walls, broken and dangerous toys. These are just some of the problems discovered by ANPC inspectors in more than 450 kindergartens throughout the country.
ANPC inspectors controlled 456 kindergartens with an extended program that provided accommodation services, and serious violations were found in 263 of them. Furthermore, out of 400 verified kindergartens that provided food services, deficiencies were recorded in 219. Among the most serious problems discovered by the control teams were the presence of cockroaches in the food area, unsanitized cooking equipment, cold storage areas with dust and rust deposits, non-insulated electrical installations, wet areas and exfoliated paint, broken playground equipment.
300 kilograms of food, stopped from consumption
The control teams issued 168 fines worth 900,000 lei, permanently stopped the use of 300 kilograms of food products worth 7,000 lei, temporarily stopped the provision of the service until the entry into legality for 16 economic operators and until to remedy deficiencies for 29 economic operators.
“It is unthinkable that the places where our children spend their first years of education do not provide the safety and essential conditions for their healthy development. Every child deserves to be protected and cared for in a clean, safe and legal environment. As parents and not only, we have the duty to ensure that these standards are respected without exception. ANPC will continue its efforts to ensure that the most vulnerable among us – children – receive the care and attention they deserve. We cannot afford to compromise when it comes to their future” – said the interim president of ANPC, Sebastian Hotca.
What diseases do cockroaches transmit?
Kitchen cockroaches attack food, but also leather, cotton or paper items. They soil the affected objects with faeces, but also with salivary secretions and larval remains. Many of these pathogens are likely to be deposited on food intended for human consumption, and because cockroaches also feed on human and animal waste, the risk of infection is high.
Some of the conditions that can manifest when contacting a virus carried by this insect are gastroenteritis, diarrhea and other intestinal conditions, including parasitic worms. At the same time, they can cause allergies that are manifested by hives and bronchial asthma, quite serious conditions that require drug treatment.
