On July 14, the Criminal Court of Buka district concluded the open trial of a criminal case concerning the poisoning of kindergarten children in several districts of the Tashkent region in September 2025. This was reported by the press secretary of the Supreme Court, Aziz Abidov.
According to the court verdict, 11 defendants were found guilty of committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 257-1 of the Criminal Code (Violation of sanitary legislation or rules for combating epidemics). Sentences ranged from 3.5 years of imprisonment to 3 years of imprisonment and 3 years of restriction of liberty. The court also imposed deprivation of certain rights under Article 45 of the Criminal Code.
The parties have the right to appeal the first-instance court verdict to the appellate/cassation instance of the Tashkent Regional Court within the procedure and time limits established by law.
According to the indictment, the aforementioned individuals conspired in advance with officials of companies providing outsourcing services and supplying milk and other products to a total of 123 kindergartens in the Piskent, Oqqo‘rg‘on, Buka, Quyi Chirchiq, and Bekabad districts. They produced milk and dairy products and entered into contracts for their supply with the aim of including these products in the diet of kindergarten children.
On the morning of September 25, 2025, it became known that kindergarten children were hospitalized with signs of poisoning. That evening, the Ministry of Preschool and School Education reported that 109 children were in hospitals. Later, it was revealed that 1,922 children had sought medical treatment for poisoning in the region's healthcare facilities.
Preliminary investigation results indicated that the poisoning was caused by kefir products from the company Shark Milk Product. Kindergartens in the districts were served by three outsourcing companies, all of which purchased dairy products from Shark Milk Product.
The outsourcing companies responsible were Governess Business for Piskent district, Nishon Invest for Oqqo‘rg‘on and Quyi Chirchiq districts, and Innavation Outsourcing Service for Buka district.
The Investigative Department under the Tashkent Regional Internal Affairs Directorate initiated a criminal case on September 25 under Part 1 of Article 257-1 of the Criminal Code.
Shortly before the incident, on September 16, Kun.uz published an investigation into the system of organizing meals in state kindergartens based on outsourcing. In it, entrepreneurs reported possible corruption schemes in the conduct of tenders.
A similar mass poisoning incident occurred in 2021 in the Oqqo‘rg‘on district, where 25 children were affected. At that time, the criminal case was reportedly under the supervision of the Prosecutor General's Office, but the results were not disclosed.
Shark Milk Product (trade mark — Royal Milk) had also supplied dairy products to the preschool education department of Oqqo‘rg‘on district at that time. Whether the poisoning was linked to this company's products remains unknown. At that time, the sole founder of the company was Fazliddin Farhodovich Omonov.
Source: www.gazeta.uz