21 cases of food poisoning recorded in Armenia in 2025
During 2025, 21 cases of food poisoning were recorded in Armenia, affecting 64 citizens. This information was shared by Tigran Petrosyan, the Head of the Food Safety Inspection Body, during a year-end press conference.
According to him, most of the poisonings were related to the activities of public catering establishments and were primarily caused by violations of sanitary-hygienic requirements and cross-contamination. The largest single case was recorded at a shawarma outlet, where 12 people were poisoned, while in other cases, a maximum of one or two individuals were affected.
Petrosyan noted that in just five months of the previous year, 77 cases of food poisoning had been recorded, some of which were linked to botulism, staphylococcus, unspecified bacterial infections, and mushroom poisonings.
In the assessment of the Head of the FSIB, the most effective means of preventing poisoning will be the implementation of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) system, which the inspection body plans to introduce starting in 2026.
Regarding the suspension of production activities, Petrosyan stated that growth was also recorded in this area. Last year, around 200 suspension decisions were made, 131 of which have already been lifted, while the remainder were still in progress at the end of the year. Most of the suspensions resulted from non-planned inspections and monitoring based on citizen complaints.
According to his information, 1,455 decisions to impose administrative fines were adopted in 2025, totaling more than 339 million AMD, of which approximately 270 million AMD was collected by the end of the year. A significant increase in this figure was recorded compared to the previous two years.
Petrosyan emphasized that the goal of the inspection body is not to increase the amount of fines, but to establish a stable and preventive system in the field of supervision.