Rachel Caroline L. Toruan, Jakarta – Mass food poisoning incidents linked to the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program have continued to surface across Indonesia. The government and the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) are currently reviewing the program to tighten oversight and improve food safety education, aiming to ensure the MBG program remains safe and beneficial for students.
Reported MBG poisoning cases:
1. Bogor, West Java
The latest incident occurred in Bogor City on Sunday, May 11, 2025. A total of 210 students from kindergarten to junior high experienced symptoms of food poisoning after consuming MBG meals. Twenty-two were hospitalized, while dozens received outpatient treatment and the rest experienced mild symptoms.
Lab tests confirmed that the MBG meals distributed that day contained Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Salmonella bacteria.
2. Cianjur, West Java
On April 21, 2025, a mass poisoning in Cianjur affected 78 students from MAN 1 and SMP PGRI 1. In total, 176 individuals showed symptoms after consuming MBG meals, which were also served during a community event. The local government declared the incident an Extraordinary Event (KLB).
3. Bombana, Southeast Sulawesi
On April 23, 2025, several students at SDN 33 Kasipute in Bombana Regency reported nausea and vomiting after detecting a foul smell from their MBG food packages. Authorities found that 53 out of 1,026 meal boxes failed to meet consumption standards.
4. East Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara
On February 18, 2025, 29 students at SD Katolik Andaluri in East Sumba experienced mild symptoms of food poisoning after consuming meals from the MBG program. They were immediately taken to nearby health facilities for treatment. The incident added to a growing list of MBG-related food poisoning cases.
5. Sukoharjo, Central Java
On January 16, 2025, ten students at SDN Dukuh 03 in Sukoharjo suffered from stomach pain and nausea. Fortunately, none required hospitalization, and the case was promptly handled by a local health clinic.
BGN found that most incidents originated from the Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG), many of which were recently established and lacked experience in managing large-scale food preparation.
– Angelina Tiara Puspitalova and Annisa Febiola contributed to the writing of this article.
Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/2006994/5-cases-of-mbg-food-poisoning-since-january-202