MOSCOW, July 18. /TASS/. The number of people poisoned by the food sold in vending machines located in Moscow office buildings belonging to the Healthy Food company has risen to 65, with 17 people remaining in hospitals, the press service of the Moscow department of the Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare informed TASS.

"Currently, there are 65 recorded cases of food poisoning. The number is increasing due to people who had eaten the food earlier only going to the doctor now, so it is doubtful that the number of people hospitalized would rise. Currently, there are 17 people remaining in hospitals," the agency’s source stated.

Currently, the company’s production hall located in southeast Moscow is sealed, along with 48 vending machines and two cafes, the source added.

Reports of a mass food poisoning of Moscow office workers from vending machine snacks came on July 16. About 3 tonnes of products have been seized. Experts of the Russian Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare have discovered expired products, unmarked produce, as well as food and products with fake expiration dates, in the company's production hall.

Earlier, a spokesperson for the company Valentina Chyornykh said on air of the Govorit Moskva radio station that the company had suspended all production and that it is currently carrying out a large-scale internal investigation with the aid of independent experts.