New dietary standards for prisoners have been put up for discussion in the KR. Portions will be smaller, but the budget will remain intact

The Cabinet of Ministers has submitted for public discussion a draft resolution that completely rewrites the rules for daily allowances for prisoners and persons held in pre-trial detention centers. The document effectively replaces the current standards, which were established back in 2008.

The draft is accompanied by an extensive comparative table and medical justification. According to the government, the aim of the reform is to “unify and improve the quality of food” and to bring the standards into line with the presidential decree of February 2025.

The main thing is to reduce the calorie content by cutting back on bread, flour, potatoes, and animal fat. In a number of standards, bread portions are halved, and salt is reduced by almost four times. At the same time, the norms for pasta, vegetables, and dairy products are increased, and eggs and butter are introduced, which were often not included in the previous norms.

The explanation states that the changes were developed taking into account the recommendations of the World Health Organization, namely, reducing trans fats, limiting salt, and increasing foods that reduce the risk of infections and heart disease.

The standards are differentiated for certain categories of prisoners. Special diets are being introduced — “general table,” “light diet,” “high-protein,” and “oncological” — which were not previously specified in the standards.

The accompanying documents note that the proposed food reform will not require additional expenditure. On the contrary, calculations suggest annual budget savings of over 38.9 million KGS due to a reduction in the norms for bread, flour, potatoes, fish, and the elimination of margarine.

If adopted, the resolution will repeal the previous package of government resolutions from 2008–2022, which fragmentarily regulated nutrition in the penitentiary system. The authorities are effectively restarting the regulatory framework, bringing it into line with modern medical and legal expertise.

The draft is currently published on the Unified Public Discussion Portal, where it will remain until December 11.