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Dozens of students get food poisoning after consuming govt’s free meals
At least two food poisoning incidents linked to the free meals program also occurred last month.
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Standards awaiting evaluation: A student receives her prepackaged meal on Jan. 15 as part of the government's free nutritious meals program at the SD 1 Gagaksipat state elementary school in Boyolali, Central Java. The Central Java administration has allocated Rp 67.1 billion (US$4.11 million) from its budget to support the free meals rollout. (Antara/Aloysius Jarot Nugroho)
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ozens of students in South Sumatra and East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) fell ill on Tuesday after consuming meals provided by the government’s free meals program, marking the third and fourth food poisoning incidents in less than two months since the program's launch.
Eight students from SD 7 Tebing Tinggi State Elementary School in Empat Lawang Regency, South Sumatra, were taken to a healthcare facility after they showed symptoms of food poisoning after consuming their packaged meal.
The third and fourth graders reportedly vomited and complained of epigastric pain, stomach discomfort, dizziness and shortness of breath.
"The students were transported to the Tebing Tinggi Community Health Center emergency unit. As of 9 a.m. today, seven students have been discharged, while one remains under observation,” said Trisnawarman, head of the South Sumatra Health Agency, in a statement on Wednesday, as reported by Tempo.
Previously, several videos circulated on social media showing packaged meals served at the school on Tuesday, consisting of fried basa fish fillet, stir-fried vermicelli noodles, fried tofu and papaya, that were infested with maggots. A significant number of students also reportedly refused to eat the meals due to an unpleasant taste.
Empat Lawang Police have decided to halt the free meals program in the regency until the investigation into the food poisoning incident is completed.
“It’s not that we oppose the free meals program. We fully support it. We just want to carefully investigate this incident so we can fully assess the situation and prevent similar occurrences in the future,” said Empat Lawang Police Chief Sr. Adj. Comr. Abdul Aziz Septiadi on Wednesday, as reported by Kompas.
