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Food quality, safety in spotlight as free meals rollout continues

The second day of the free meals rollout saw some schoolchildren complaining of unpalatable food, raising concerns among students, parents and experts alike about whether the government can maintain food quality and safety in the ambitious flagship program.

Radhiyya Indra and Wahyoe Boediwardhana (The Jakarta Post)
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Jakarta/Surabaya
Wed, January 8, 2025

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Food quality, safety in spotlight as free meals rollout continues A student eats a packaged lunch on Jan. 6, 2025, the first day of the free nutritious meal rollout, at SDN Kranji 1 state elementary school in Purwokerto, Central Java. The ambitious program targeting schoolchildren and pregnant women was a key election promise of President Prabowo Subianto. (Antara/Idhad Zakaria)

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oncerns about food quality and potential risks related to food safety have surfaced among students, parents and experts amid the ongoing rollout of the government’s flagship free nutritious meal program.

After the program’s inaugural launch on Monday was met with excitement from students and teachers alike, authorities distributed packaged meals to schools in 26 provinces on Tuesday, the second day of the phase one rollout.

Presidential spokesperson Hasan Nasbi hailed Monday’s launch as a “milestone”, after the program’s successful kick-off within the first 100 days of the administration of President Prabowo Subianto.

The government has pledged to provide free meals to tens of millions of schoolchildren and pregnant women through the program, with the first phase focusing on providing meals to around 500,000 students from 190 approved small-scale caterers. The program aims to gradually increase the number of caterers and recipients by March to 937 and 3 million, respectively.

The free meals rollout proceeded smoothly on Tuesday to reach several schools across Java, including SMPN 61 Jakarta state junior high school in Slipi subdistrict, Palmerah, West Jakarta, which received packaged lunches prepared by a local caterer. Each meal contained white rice, scrambled eggs, stir-fried spinach and carrot, a banana and a carton of milk.

Read also: Enthusiasm fills schools on first day of free meals program

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Unlike the first day however, many students complained about the second day’s menu, especially the taste of the stir-fried vegetables.

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