Nawir Arsyad Akbar, Jakarta – Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) is calling for President Prabowo Subianto's flagship free nutritious meals (MBG) program be stopped following a series of poisoning cases involving students in various regions. There have been more than 200 students who have been victims of poisoning due to eating the MBG menu.
"The quality of the food provided does not meet minimum nutritional standards. This includes protein content, vitamins and menu diversity. There were findings that students at schools were served boiled eggs that were not fit for consumption. In some schools, students even threw food way because of the bad taste", wrote ICW researchers in an official statement on Friday April 25.
ICW also found an imbalance in MBG services and quality between one school and another. One of them was the discovery of food containers made of thin plastic which is clearly dangerous because chemicals can leak out if the container is used for hot food.
"This shows an absence of service standardisation in the implementation of the MBG program", ICW wrote. "Referring to the above, President Prabowo must show responsibility by stopping the MBG project", asserted ICW.
Hundreds of students poisoned
There have been a series of mass poisoning cases due to the MBG menu in 2025 starting from the poisoning case that befell 78 students from the State Islamic School (MAN) 1 and the Indonesian Teachers Association Junior High School (SMP PGRI) 1 in Cianjur, West Java.
Moreover the Cianjur District Health Service declared an extraordinary event (KLB) status due to the incident.
The second was when 13 students experienced symptoms of vomiting and stomach pain due to a MBG menu of floured chicken which was suspected to be stale at the Kasipute 33 State Primary School (SDN) in Bombana, Southeast Sulawesi.
Then, as many as 60 students experienced nausea and stomach pain after consuming MBG program food at the Proyonanggan 5 SDN in Batang, Central Java.
The next incident occurred at the Andaluri Catholic Elementary School in Waingapu, East Sumba, where 29 students suffered poisoning.
Fifth, as many as 40 students also suffered mass poisoning after consuming the MBG menu at the Alaswangi SDN 2 in Pandeglang, West Java.
Lastly, 40 students suffered food poisoning after consuming MBG at the Dukuh 3 SDN in Sukoharjo, Central Java.
Referring to the MBG poisoning cases above, at least 260 students have fallen victim. The majority of MBG victims complained of symptoms of nausea, diarrhea and stomach pain.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Marak Kasus Keracunan MBG, ICW Desak Program Dihentikan".]
