TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
BGN to improve food safety standards following mass poisoning incidents
The free nutritious meals program has faced intense public scrutiny following several food poisoning incidents that have caused hundreds of students to be hospitalized since its launch in January.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Safe handling essential: Students collect metal trays used to distribute food for the free nutritious meal program on Feb. 18 at SD Banjarsari 5 state elementary school in Serang, Banten. The government aims to distribute free meal packages for 6 million recipients by the end of July 2025. (Antara/Angga Budhiyanto)
T
he National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has pledged to strengthen food safety measures across over 1,000 kitchens serving meals to students under President Prabowo Subianto's free nutritious meal program, after a series of food poisoning incidents left hundreds of students ill.
Agency head Dadan Hindayana stated that the government will also offer training and refresher courses for food handlers to enhance their skills and reinforce safety standards.
"We aim to achieve zero food poisoning incidents under the free meals program moving forward," he said on Monday, as reported by Kompas.com.
Over the weekend, the BGN trained approximately 10,000 kitchen workers from Greater Jakarta and West Java on food safety, aiming to ensure that all staff are equipped to safely prepare and distribute meals on a large scale.
"All workers must understand the importance of food safety and recognize that meal preparation cannot be done carelessly, especially given that the program impacts children's health and nutritional well-being," said Sonny Sanjaya, BGN's director of Food Provision and Distribution for Region II, on Monday, as reported by Antaranews.
"They must also realize that cooking for three or four people is very different from preparing meals for 500 to 1,000," he added.
Each free meals kitchen, dubbed as a Nutrition Fulfillment Service Unit (SPPG), prepares around 3,000 to 4,000 meals daily.
