Facts Behind Indonesia's Free Nutritious Meal Program Food Poisoning in Majene

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The rampant food poisoning from Indonesia's free nutritious meal (MBG) program continues to occur despite President Prabowo Subianto's flagship program having been running for a year. Less than a month into January 2026, thousands of people have been poisoned.

The Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI) recorded 1,242 victims of free nutritious meal poisoning throughout January 2026. Cumulatively, JPPI reports that the total number of MBG poisoning victims from 2025 to early 2026 reached 21,254.

The most recent case of free nutritious meal poisoning occurred in Majene Regency, West Sulawesi Province, on Tuesday, January 13, 2026. Here are some facts about the recent free nutritious meal poisoning.

50 Victims

The West Sulawesi Provincial Health, Population Control, and Family Planning Office's Surveillance Team confirmed that 50 people were poisoned after consuming free nutritious meals on January 12, 2026.

As of yesterday, of the 50 people, 40 were still being treated at the local community health center. "None were referred (zero), one person returned home or recovered, and nine were being treated at home," according to data from the West Sulawesi Provincial Health Office team on Tuesday, January 13, 2026.

"This data was updated at 4:00 PM WITA," said a public relations officer at the Majene Community Health Center when contacted via WhatsApp message.

The surveillance team and the local health office stated that the majority of the poisoned victims are toddlers. It has not been confirmed whether there are pregnant women among the 50 victims. "We are still checking for validation," they said.

Cause of MBG Poisoning Awaits BPOM Lab Test Results

The Majene Regency Health Office has not yet decided whether the MBG food poisoning case on January 13, 2026, will be declared an extraordinary event.

The Majene Health Office is currently conducting an epidemiological investigation to determine the spread of cases and the source of the poisoning while awaiting laboratory results from the Mamuju Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM).

The surveillance team and the health office have taken vomit samples and food samples previously consumed by the victims. According to data collected by the surveillance team, the victims consumed white rice, shredded chicken, soy sauce noodles, vegetable soup, yellow tofu, and watermelon.

The food samples were collected at the Sample Bank of the Majene Nutrition Fulfillment Service Unit (SPPG) Tubo Sendana Onang, Majene, by environmental health officers from the Majene Health Office. Laboratory tests on the samples were conducted on January 13, 2026.

According to the health office, the symptoms were abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, fever, and poor body turgor. The initial suspicion is that the source of the poisoning was from the MBG distributed by the Majene Tubo Sendana Onang SPPG (Children's Nutritional Supplement Center) and the Jaya Perdana Creative Foundation, which distributed it to schools and integrated health posts (Posyandu).

The Majority of Majene MBG Poisoning Victims Are Toddlers

The Surveillance Team from the West Sulawesi Province Health, Population Control, and Family Planning Office stated that the majority of the 50 people who experienced poisoning after consuming the free nutritious meal menu were toddlers.

Data from the West Sulawesi Province Health, Population Control, and Family Planning Office recorded that as of Tuesday, January 13, 2026, 40 people were still receiving treatment at health facilities. Of these, nine were being treated at home, one was declared cured, and no patients were referred to the hospital.

The public relations officer at the Majene Community Health Center confirmed that most of the victims were toddlers. "Most of the victims are toddlers. As for pregnant women, we are still checking to validate the data," said a public relations officer at the Majene Community Health Center when contacted via WhatsApp message.

Vomiting at Night

Silvia's toddler suddenly started vomiting early Tuesday morning, January 13, 2025. Silvia woke up around 12:30 a.m. WITA (Central Indonesian Time) when her two-year-old son vomited.

"He vomited three times at home and was immediately rushed to the community health center," the 38-year-old woman said when contacted by Tempo.

Seven hours before the incident, Silvia said her child had eaten a meal from the free nutritious meal program. The meal was delivered to her home around 5 p.m. local time, on Monday, January 12, 2026.

Since becoming a beneficiary of the MBG program in early January, Silvia has often received meals in the afternoon. This differs from schoolchildren who receive meals at lunchtime.

She said she didn't have time to taste the meal, which consisted of white rice, fried noodles, shredded chicken, and pieces of watermelon. When the food arrived, the resident of Tubo Sendana District, Majene Regency, West Sulawesi, said her child immediately devoured it.

Around 7 p.m. local time, Silvia said her child went back to eat the rest of the MBG. She then went to bed around 10 p.m.

In the middle of the night, Silvia said her child woke up and vomited. She then took her child to the community health center because he seemed weak. She said that when she was about to go to the community health center, her neighbor's child experienced the same thing.

"It turns out my neighbor's child was also vomiting at the time," she said.

Silvia explained that her child is still lying on the community health center bed. She said she is no longer vomiting, but now has diarrhea.

She said the community health center staff have not yet determined the cause of her child's vomiting. Silvia said the medical team is still investigating the cause. "Is it really poisoning or what?" she said.

Meanwhile, Tubo Sendana Sub-district Head Abdul Azis stated that he had held mediation between beneficiaries and several parties involved in the MBG program at his office on Tuesday, January 13, 2026.

Abdul explained that during the mediation, beneficiaries demanded a change in the MBG delivery schedule. He said the beneficiaries wanted the delivery of free nutritious meals to be carried out in the same manner as when SPPG delivers them to schools. "10 a.m.," Abdul said when contacted.

Regarding the poisoning case, Abdul said there was no conclusion yet on the cause of the MBG beneficiary's illness and the need to be rushed to the community health center. The Head of the National Nutrition Agency, Dadan Hindayana, and the Deputy Head of the National Nutrition Agency, Nanik S. Deyang, have not yet responded to confirmation messages sent via WhatsApp regarding this case.

Dinda Shabrina contributed to this article.

Read: JPPI Reports 1,242 Victims of Free Nutritious Meal Poisoning as of January 2026

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