Indonesia Probes Free Meals Poisoning After 19 Students Fall Ill in Blora

Nineteen students at Sendangrejo Public Elementary School in Blora, Indonesia, experienced food poisoning after eating meals provided by the government's Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program. The students, from grades III to VI, were briefly hospitalized at the Ngawen Public Health Center but have all since returned home and are reportedly recovering without further symptoms.

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We will cooperate with our colleagues at the Ministry of Health and the health department officials located at the site of the MBG poisoning.

The nutrition fulfillment service, SPPG Bogowanti, which supplied the meals, has temporarily ceased operations. Investigations into the cause are underway, with initial findings from the Blora Health Department suggesting improperly stored milk in the meal's packaged components may be to blame. The SPPG is managed by the Mitra Cendikia Waskita Foundation and has distributed meals to 2,341 recipients.

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They have all returned home and are being monitored; there have been no recurring symptoms until today.

Prima Yosephine Berliana Tumiur Hutapea, Deputy of the Indonesian National Nutrition Body (BGN) for Systems and Governance, stated that the BGN will cooperate with the Ministry of Health and local health officials to determine the cause. She expressed hope that the findings would lead to improvements in the MBG program's management. However, Vice Chair of the House of Representatives' IX Commission, Yahya Zaini, criticized the ongoing food poisoning incidents, pointing to what he described as weak oversight by the BGN over SPPGs. Zaini urged the BGN to prioritize food quality and safety over mere quantity.

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BGN should focus on quality, not just quantity.