Poisoning on a schedule: why ready-made food becomes deadly
The number of victims in Astrakhan has increased to 31 people, the regional department of the Investigative Committee told Izvestia. Most of them have already been diagnosed with salmonellosis: the cause of infection was ready-made food from the local Mikhailovsky deli, cooked with violations. Among those poisoned are a one—year-old girl and her grandmother, who has already died. This is the third case of mass food poisoning in the country in a year. Why ready—made products can pose a deadly danger and how to protect yourself from infection - in the Izvestia article.
How many victims
Symptoms of salmonellosis were detected in 31 Astrakhan residents, the Investigative Committee for the Astrakhan Region told Izvestia. The diagnosis of 26 victims has been laboratory confirmed, the regional Rospotrebnadzor added.
Since June 24, Astrakhan residents have been massively hospitalized with symptoms of salmonellosis. Shortly before the illness, the victims ate food from the local popular grocery store Mikhailovsky.
The hospitalized patients are in a moderate condition and are receiving the necessary treatment, the Ministry of Health of the Astrakhan region noted. Two people have already been discharged from hospitals.
It was established that the patients consumed the finished products of the Mikhailovsky culinary store.
"The store is currently closed," the Rospotrebnadzor in the Astrakhan region told Izvestia. "According to preliminary data, the poisoning was caused by the use of fish cutlets made in a store with violations of sanitary and epidemiological requirements."
Experts took samples of the products to determine the source of the infection. According to their estimates, the examination will take several days, a source told Izvestia.
What threatens violators
The TFR has opened a criminal case on the fact of mass poisoning. His investigation was taken under personal control by the head of the department, Alexander Bastrykin. The punishment for the perpetrators will depend on which part of Article 238 of the Criminal Code they will be tried under.
According to lawyer Oleg Kim, charges may be brought against employees of the deli, including its director, employees responsible for the production of cutlets and their sale, as well as suppliers.
"Everything will depend on who exactly violated the security requirements," he explained to Izvestia.
The defendants face up to six years in prison and a fine of up to 500 thousand rubles, the lawyer noted.
Lawyer Nikolai Semenov believes that the punishment will be more severe — in his opinion, the perpetrators face up to ten years in prison.
"The death of one person and a large number of victims, including minors, can all lead to increased qualifications," he explained to Izvestia.
According to Oleg Kim, the victims, as well as the relatives of the deceased, have the right to compensation for property and moral damage.
"The amount of the payment is not limited by law and is determined by the court, taking into account the severity of the consequences," he said. — If a person has died, the amount of compensation for moral damage in judicial practice can reach 3 million rubles per close relative. The final decision is made taking into account all the circumstances of the case.
A deadly taste
The case in Astrakhan has already become the third mass poisoning of ready-made food in a year. In June, 30 people were injured in the Volgograd region, and about 15 more in Tuva.
Most of the victims in recent years were in 2024: then 352 people were poisoned with Lobio salad, which was sold through food delivery services, two of them died. In addition to Moscow, where the number of victims numbered in the hundreds, cases of poisoning were also recorded in Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan.
View of the territory of the Savon-K enterprise. The company produced beans, which were part of salads that caused mass poisoning with botulinum toxin in Moscow and other regions of Russia.
During the investigation, it was found that the beans for the dish were cooked in the Moscow region without observing the established norms. This led to the formation of botulinum toxin in the vacuum—packed salad, which causes severe food poisoning and affects the nervous system.
In the same year, more than 30 people in Kaliningrad contracted salmonellosis after eating dishes from the Muesli 39 nutrition delivery service. During the investigation, it was established that the food was prepared by employees without medical records. In addition, more than 60 kg of expired products without labeling were found at the factory.
And in 2025, more than 80 residents of Perm were diagnosed with enteritis and salmonellosis after consuming products from bread bakeries. During the investigation, it was found out that the pastry chef of the chain, Irina Rybyakova, did not inform the management about the illness of one of the chefs.
How to avoid poisoning
The most reliable way to prevent salmonellosis infection is to re—heat store-bought dishes, Roman Merkulov, an epidemiologist at the Uniclinic Medical Center, told Izvestia.
— Salmonella dies at 70 °C and above, and boiling kills it almost instantly. It is important that the temperature is kept at least 75 °C inside the dish for at least ten minutes. However, this method is not applicable to all finished products," he noted.
The bacterium is extremely resistant to the external environment, Andrey Matyukhin, chief specialist in the field of infectious diseases at the Be Healthy clinic network, told Izvestia.
"Salmonella lives in water for weeks, in soil for months, and in some foods they can not only persist, but also actively multiply, without changing the taste, color, and smell of food," he explained.
Eggs, poultry meat and semi-finished products are most often the source of infection, the doctor noted. According to him, store-bought cutlets are often prepared from mixed meat by mechanical deboning (the remains of meat are removed from the bones using a special machine), which increases the risk of salmonella entering the body.
—Salmonella multiplies perfectly in the finished product if it has been in contact with raw food, for example, in multicomponent salads," he added. — Using the same cutting board for raw chicken and for bread or vegetables leads to contamination of finished products, which then do not heat up.
As for botulism, its toxins are most often found in canned mushrooms and in fish that have been salted or smoked with technology violations. And also in expired products or in those that were stored in the wrong conditions, Ekaterina Kashukh, a gastroenterologist, told Izvestia.
— With poisoning, vision usually suffers: a person begins to see worse, it hurts him to look at the light, his eyes double, flies float. The upper eyelid is also swollen, which makes it difficult to open your eyes," she said. — At the same time, or a little later, bulbar syndrome develops: the nerves that are responsible for swallowing, tongue movements, and salivary glands are disrupted. Gradually, the poison blocks the work of the muscles involved in breathing. In general, the whole body weakens — it is difficult to hold your head and move.
Listeriosis (can lead to sepsis and meningitis), campylobacteriosis (causes severe diarrhea), escherichiosis (can lead to kidney damage), norovirus infection, hepatitis A (causes liver inflammation) are also found in finished products.
At the same time, it will not be possible to externally distinguish an infected dish from a normal one, doctors say.
— First of all, it is worth paying attention to the storage conditions, shelf life and general cleanliness in the trading floor, — Roman Merkulov emphasized. — A sharp or sour smell, an uncharacteristic consistency, as well as any signs of damage to the packaging may alert.
Gastroenterologist, regional representative of the national association "Gluten-free Life" Tatiana Golovchanskaya advises not to purchase long-term stored ready-made products, as they may be infected.
When the first symptoms of poisoning appear — vomiting, diarrhea, fever, chills — you should immediately consult a doctor, Roman Merkulov added. Before the ambulance arrives, you can only drink water in small sips or special solutions for rehydration.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
