TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's free nutritious meal project (MBG), has been running for over a year. Several problems continue to haunt the project, a result of what the civil society coalition considers poor governance.
MBG project has not only resulted in tens of thousands of food poisoning cases, but also issues with the presentation of MBG food trays. Recently, social media circulated news about the free meal packages being served in plastic bags. This incident took place in Sukaresmi Subdistrict, Pandeglang Regency, Banten. Tempo reviewed this along with similar issues regarding MBG food trays over the past year.
1. MBG Menus Wrapped in Plastic
Social media posts showed MBG being served in plastic bags allegedly done by the Nutrition Fulfillment Service Unit Karyasari. The video displayed a woman demonstrating two different meal packages received by residents.
The meal packages contained chicken, porridge, and longan fruit. Another package had a similar composition. The maker of the video doubted the quality of the food and likened its condition to cat vomit.
Head of NPSU Karyasari, Sukaresmi Subdistrict, Pandeglang, Dimas Dhika Alpiyan, said the incident occurred on Thursday, January 8, 2026. He mentioned that the MBG menu for that day focused on local wisdom.
He stated that the menu consisted of rice cake, fried chicken, peanut sauce, long beans, and longan fruit. The menu was distributed to toddlers, pregnant women, and nursing mothers.
"The menu was already cooked and planned to be distributed at noon. However, there was a problem as the long beans were spoiled, so they had to be recooked," he said in a statement on Saturday, January 10, 2026.
He explained that this delay led to a late distribution. As a result, the distribution could only be done at 4 p.m. Originally, the food was supposed to be wrapped in food tray.
However, he stated that upon arrival at the location, the food distribution personnel transferred all the menus into plastic bags. The reason being spontaneity, and then distributed them to the beneficiaries. The driver then took back the empty food trays.
2. Food Trays Allegedly Containing Pig Fat
The containers for serving MBG meals became controversial when there were rumors about the food trays coated by pig fat. These allegations surfaced in mid-August 2025.
The suspicion that MBG's food tray coated by pig fat stemmed from a report by the Indonesia Business Post, which investigated a factory in the Chaoshan region, China. It was suspected that the factory was an importer of food tray for the MBG project.
They found that the factory falsified the label stating "Made in Indonesia" and the SNI logo on the food tray that was actually produced in China. Type 201 food tray was also suspected to contain manganese or a whitish-gray metal, which is not suitable for acidic foods.
In response to the discovery, the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) and the National Agency of Drug and Food Control (BPOM) stated that they had conducted laboratory tests on samples of the food tray. Head of BPOM, Taruna Ikrar, said that his institution, along with BGN, the Presidential Communication Office, and the Halal Product Guarantee Agency (BPJPH), had communicated and held a meeting regarding the test results of the MBG food tray.
"Ultimately, an announcement will be made jointly. The sector leading the announcement of the test results is the Presidential Communication Office," said Taruna when met at the House of Representatives (DPR) complex, Senayan, Jakarta, on Monday, September 15, 2025.
Head of BGN, Dadan Hindayana, stated that the raw material oil was indeed used in the MBG food tray production process. However, he argued that the oil was only used in the machines during stamping, not in the food trays.
"The food trays are a combination of chromium and nickel. The oil is used in the machine during stamping, not in the food tray," said Dadan on Thursday, August 28, 2025.
3. MBG Food Tray Suspected to Use Easily Corroded Material
The Indonesian Food Container Manufacturers' Association or Apmaki found that the food tray used for MBG did not meet the standards of food consumption containers. According to the association, food containers made of stainless steel usually use SUS 304.
However, the material used for MBG food tray was SUS 201. Apmaki Secretary-General Alie Cendrawan stated that his association had tested the imported 201 food tray for MBG with an acid solution.
The results showed that SUS 201 ompreng turned black and easily corroded. "This poses a danger to beneficiaries, school children," he said at a press conference in South Jakarta on Thursday, July 31, 2025.
The National Standardization Agency (BSN) has established the Indonesian National Standard (SNI) 9369:2025 regarding sectioned containers or food trays made of stainless steel for food to support the MBG Program.
"This standard was established on June 18, 2025, through the Decree of the Head of BSN Number 182/KEP/BSN/6/2025. This is a new standard, a result of our own development arranged by the Technical Committee 77-02, Downstream Metal Products," said BSN Development Deputy Hendro Kusumo in Jakarta on Friday, July 18, 2025.
With this standard, BGN aims to ensure the safety, durability, and non-toxicity of the food tray used in the MBG program. "This also encourages the domestic industry to produce quality eating utensils," he said, as quoted from Antara.
The establishment of SNI is, he said, a strategic step to ensure that the eating utensils used in the MBG program meet quality, safety, and health aspects.
Furthermore, SNI 9369:2025 was arranged by the Technical Committee 77-02, Downstream Metal Products, with the secretariat at the Formulation, Implementation, and Enforcement Center for Industrial Standardization with the conceptor team from the Large-Scale Standardization and Metal and Machinery Services at the Ministry of Industry.
Dani Aswara, Adil Al Hasan, and Dinda Shabrina contributed to the writing of this article.
Read: Key Concerns After One Year of Indonesia's Free Nutritious Meals Program
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