Statement from Skólamatur ehf.
A foreign object was found in lunches served by Skólamatur ehf. at four Reykjavík City preschools today, with two additional incidents reported in other municipalities. Preschool staff responded immediately and reported the incident to Reykjavík Public Health.
The affected preschools include Hraunborg, Borg, Ævintýraborg on Eggertsgata, and Blásalir. Preschool staff quickly contacted the public health authority to report the incident. The public health authority confirmed the incident poses no health risk, though the Department of Education and Youth regrets the occurrence.
Skólamatur ehf. issued the following notice:
Statement regarding a defect in purchased ingredients
Skólamatur received reports today of insects in rice used during food preparation. The company Garri supplied the defective ingredients, and evidence does not link the issue to Skólamatur's production, cooking, serving, or hygiene practices.
We activated our response protocols as soon as the issue's scope became clear. Staff discarded the affected ingredients and confirmed their traceability. Six schools have now submitted reports. We also raised this matter with the supplier.
We informed the public health authority, whose representatives visited Skólamatur's premises to review our conditions and procedures. The inspection raised no on-site concerns.
Officials confirmed the incident posed no health risk. Nevertheless, we take this matter seriously and deeply regret its occurrence. We respond decisively to any defect, regardless of its origin.
Skólamatur focused its response on halting the ingredient's use, tracing its origin, assessing the scope, notifying the relevant parties, and preventing further distribution.
Food safety and quality remain fundamental to Skólamatur's operations. After reviewing the timeline and our initial response, we will continue following up with the supplier and relevant regulatory authorities.
We sincerely regret today's incident and reaffirm that a defect in purchased ingredients caused the issue, rather than Skólamatur's production, serving, or operational processes.