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.
BPOM laments limited role in free meal program amid rampant food poisonings
Taruna reported that, since the launch of the free meal program in January, BPOM has recorded 17 food poisoning incidents across 10 provinces. While he did not specify the number of students affected, various news reports indicate that at least 1,500 students have been impacted by these incidents.
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!
Workers stack packaged lunches for students of SMA Muhammadiyah 2 high school in Sidoarjo, East Java, on Jan. 6, the first day of the free nutritious meals program. (Antara/Umarul Faruq)
T
he Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) has expressed concern over its minimal role in overseeing the government’s free meal initiative, which, despite running for only four months, has been plagued by more than a dozen food poisoning cases.
During a hearing with the House of Representatives on Thursday, BPOM Chair Taruna Ikrar revealed that, despite signing an agreement with the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) to oversee 13 key aspects of the free meal program, the agency has not been involved in all of them.
“For example, we were never asked to check whether the free meal kitchens were built to standard and operating in accordance with food safety protocols, even though we have the resources, personnel and expertise to monitor food production,” he said, as quoted by Kompas.com.
He added that so far, the BGN has only requested the BPOM’s assistance in formulating training modules for free meal kitchen staff and in responding to food poisoning incidents.
Taruna expressed hope that moving forward, the BGN would expand the BPOM’s role in the free meal program, particularly in critical areas such as overseeing food safety protocols in kitchens and inspecting raw ingredients.
“We can’t simply deploy our team to inspect free meal kitchens when the BGN has not requested us to do so,” he said.
Taruna reported that, since the launch of the free meal program in January, the BPOM has recorded 17 food poisoning incidents across 10 provinces. While he did not specify the number of students affected, various news reports indicate that at least 1,500 students have been impacted by these incidents.
