Yuni Rohmawati, Palembang – South Sumatra Health Office (Dinkes Sumsel) confirmed the report of students experiencing stomach aches due to food poisoning after consuming Free Nutritious Meals in the Empat Lawang Regency, South Sumatra (Sumsel), on Tuesday, February 18, 2025.
The Head of the South Sumatra Health Office, Trisnawarman, stated that there was indeed a report referring to the incident classified as an Extraordinary Event (KLB) in the Tebing Tinggi area, Empat Lawang Regency.
According to the records of Dinkes Sumsel, there were a total of eight children (6 girls and 2 boys) who experienced initial symptoms of vomiting, upper abdominal pain, dizziness, stomach aches, and shortness of breath. These students were from the Tebing Tinggi State Elementary School 7, with details of 7 students from grade 3 and 1 student from grade 4.
"There was a report of 8 students experiencing nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and receiving treatment at the Emergency Department of Tebing Tinggi Community Health Center. But today, 7 students have been discharged at 9:00 AM this morning and one student is still under care," Trisnawarman stated when confirmed by Tempo via Whatsapp message on Wednesday, February 19, 2025.
Following the incident, Tris mentioned that several samples of the distributed food had been taken for further examination at the laboratory in the Environmental Health Technology Center or BTKL Palembang.
Meanwhile, before the incident of several children experiencing stomach aches, several videos had gone viral on social media showing a number of children in a school refusing to eat the provided meals due to their poor quality. The videos depicted several foods infested with worms and sour fruits.
When Tempo confirmed with Diana Putri, the person in charge of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) in the South Sumatra region, Diana did not provide a response regarding this matter.
It is known that the distribution of Free Nutritious Meals in the Empat Lawang Regency was held on Monday, February 17, 2025. This was also conducted simultaneously in other regions such as the city of Prabumulih, PALI Regency, Martapura OKU Timur, Pagar Alam City, Muara Enim, and Lahat.
As for the target locations in Tebing Tinggi, Empat Lawang, they included Aulia 2 Tebing Tinggi Kindergarten (14 students, 1 teacher), State Elementary School 5 (395 students, 1 teacher), State Elementary School 7 (253 students, 1 teacher), State Elementary School 8 (711 students, 1 teacher), Junior High School 1 (839 students, 2 teachers), MAN 1 (167 students, 1 teacher), SMA N 1 (713 students, 1 teacher), with a total of 3100 portions of food.
At present, the Free Nutritious Meals Program in Empat Lawang has been temporarily suspended by the Empat Lawang Police, as confirmed by the Empat Lawang Police Chief, Aziz Septiadi. "Temporarily suspended," he said when confirmed by Tempo.