Presidential Staff Office: 5,000 People Poisoned by Free Nutritious Meals

September 23, 2025 | 07:03 am

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Head of the Presidential Staff Office (KSP), Muhammad Qodari, stated that three government institutions have different data regarding the number of people poisoned by free nutritious meals (MBG). These three institutions are the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), the Ministry of Health, and the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM). Despite the discrepancies, the total number of victims is around 5,000.

"Statistically, the figures are actually synchronized. They are all around the number 5,000," Qodari said at the Presidential Palace Complex in Central Jakarta on Monday, September 22, 2025.

He provided specific details from each agency: the BGN recorded 5,080 cases with 46 incidents, the Ministry of Health noted 5,207 victims across 60 incidents, and BPOM reported 5,320 victims from 55 incidents.

Additionally, the KSP cited data from the Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI), which recorded 5,360 cases of MBG poisoning. "But the number of cases was not mentioned," Qodari said.

Qodari identified four contributing factors to the poisoning cases: issues with food hygiene, improper food temperature and processing, cross-contamination by staff, and instances of allergic reactions in recipients.

In response, several institutions are working to resolve the issue. For example, the Ministry of Health is strengthening its standard operating procedures (SOPs). According to their records, 413 out of 1,379 Nutrition Service Fulfillment Units (SPPGs) have a Food Safety SOP. Of those, 312 SPPGs were implementing the SOP in September 2025.

Qodari explained that evidence of an SPPG implementing the SOP is the Hygiene Sanitation Eligibility Certificate (SLHS). This certificate confirms that the unit meets quality and safety standards for processed and ready-to-eat foods. However, as of September 22, 2025, only 34 out of 8,583 SPPGs had an SLHS.

"Meanwhile, 8,549 existing SPPGs do not have the SLHS," Qodari stated.

Calls to Halt the Free Nutritious Meal Program

Previously, JPPI reported that 5,360 children had been poisoned by mid-September 2025, since the program's launch. In response to the increasing number of mass poisoning incidents, JPPI urged President Prabowo Subianto and the BGN to temporarily halt the program.

"Thousands of children have become victims of poisoning, while the government continues to enforce this program without a comprehensive evaluation and seems not to be serious," said JPPI National Coordinator Ubaid Matraji, in a written statement on Friday, September 19, 2025.

However, the latest JPPI data shows a significant increase in victims over the past week, from 5,360 cases as of September 14, 2025, to 6,452 cases as of September 21, 2025.

"I don't know if such an incident has an indicator of an extraordinary occurrence because the increase is very sharp," Ubaid said during a hearing with the House of Representatives' Commission IX at the DPR Complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Monday, September 22, 2025.

Dinda Shabrina contributed to this report.

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