Alfitria Nefi P, Jakarta – Indonesia's National Nutrition Agency (BGN) suspects two causes of recent food poisoning cases in the free nutritious meal program (MBG). "There is a suspected allergy, and there is suspected food poisoning," said Deputy Head of BGN Nanik Sudaryati Deyang on Wednesday, September 24, 2025.
Nanik explained that food poisoning cases due to allergies arise if the beneficiaries have taboos against certain foods, such as shrimp, eggs, or mackerel. She stated that many children who became victims of poisoning were confirmed to have food allergies.
As a precaution, BGN has asked schools to keep records of students with allergies. "Apparently, there might be some oversights," Nanik said. She added that schools will be asked to update the data on students' food allergies.
If the cause of poisoning is proven to be due to allergies, Nanik stated that BGN will advise the nutrition fulfillment service units (SPPG) to avoid serving potentially allergenic foods.
In addition to allergies, Nanik revealed that the procurement process of food not following standard operating procedures is also suspected to be a trigger. She says that poisoning can occur because of the long time between cooking and serving the food. BGN has established a rule that food must be served within six hours of cooking. "There are SOPs that are not being implemented, for example, it should have been cooked at 3 am, but instead it was at 8 pm," Nanik explained.
As part of the evaluation process, BGN has formed and dispatched teams to various regions to train SPPG officers to follow operational procedures. Online socialization is also conducted with the foundation owners and SPPG heads to ensure that the cooking process follows the procedure.
The recent food poisoning cases in the MBG program have increasingly come under public scrutiny. Several civil organizations have urged the government to temporarily halt this program after the number of victims surged in the past two months. Data from the Indonesian Educational Monitoring Network (JPPI) shows that in July, there were 342 students poisoned, which increased to 2,226 students in August, and 3,145 students in September.
The Head of the Presidential Staff Office (KSP) Muhammad Qodari mentioned that three institutions, namely BGN, the Ministry of Health, and the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM), have different data regarding the number of victims. However, he stated that the difference is not significant. "Statistically, the numbers are actually synchronized. They are all around 5,000," Qodari said at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta on Monday, September 22, 2025.
– Dian Rahma Fika, Dede Leni Mardianti, and Aminuddin contributed to the writing of this article