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View all search resultsCalls grow to suspend free meal program after mass poisoning
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A student eats lunch on Jan 6, the first day of a free-meal program at an elementary school in Bogor, West Java. (AFP/Aditya Aji)
P
resident Prabowo Subianto’s free meals program faces mounting calls for suspension following repeated cases of mass poisoning that have heightened public concern over food safety and mismanagement.
Over the past week, at least three clusters of mass food poisoning have been reported in some regions, with more than 1,000 students falling ill after they consumed meals distributed under the flagship program.
Since its launch in January, the program has reached over 25 million recipients with a budget of Rp 71 trillion this year, and is slated to expand further next year with funding that could reach Rp 335 trillion.
But, in the largest food poisoning outbreak so far, 569 students from five schools in Garut regency, West Java, reportedly suffered nausea and vomiting on Wednesday after eating chicken and rice supplied by a free meal kitchen the previous day.
Also last week, two other incidents emerged in the Banggai Islands, Central Sulawesi, and in Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara, where 335 students and 130 students fell ill, respectively.
These incidents are, however, far from being one-offs. According to the Center for Indonesia Strategic Development Initiatives (CISDI), there have been at least 5,626 food poisoning cases linked to the free meal program since its launch.
“The root problem lies in the government’s ambition to reach 82.9 million beneficiaries. In chasing such a massive target, the program has been rushed, leading to poorly managed food preparation and distribution,” CISDI founder and CEO Diah Saminarsih told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
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