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Health group warns of high sugar content in Prabowo’s free milk program
CISDI pointed on Wednesday to a trial in Sentul, West Java, which provided school children with ultra-high temperature (UHT) milk containing 25 grams of sugar. Health experts have suggested children's daily intake should be less than 25g.
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Surakarta mayor and vice president-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka (center) talks with residents of Pasar Manggis subdistrict, Setiabudi, South Jakarta on July 3, 2024. Gibran holds a blusukan (impromptu visit) to several locations in Jakarta to “know more about the city's problem“ before taking office as the vice president in October. (Antara/Aprillio Akbar)
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everal trials of president-elect Prabowo Subianto’s free meal program have incorporated milk with a high sugar content, according to the Center for Indonesia's Strategic Development Initiatives (CISDI) with the health group warning it could pose a risk to children’s well-being.
CISDI pointed on Wednesday to a trial in Sentul, West Java, which provided school children with ultra-high temperature (UHT) milk containing 25 grams of sugar. Health experts have suggested children's daily intake should be less than 25g, as quoted by CNN Indonesia.
Two out of every 100,000 children aged below 18 have diabetes, according to Indonesian Pediatric Society data published in January last year, a 70-fold increase from the number recorded in 2010.
Read also: Govt, Prabowo team deny claim about slash in cost of free meals
Budiman Sudjatmiko, a senior member of Prabowo's expert team and Drajad Wibowo, another senior member of the Prabowo team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
CISDI has previously warned the incoming administration to refrain from incorporating food containing high levels of sugar, salt and fat in its free school meal program, especially those pushed by the industry.
CISDI said the failure to filter out these three would risk the program falling short in combating diseases such as diabetes mellitus and obesity.
