September 26, 2025 | 08:37 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Nanik S. Dayeng, the deputy head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), has apologized for the numerous cases of mass food poisoning in the free nutritious meal program. To date, over 6,000 children are suspected of food poisoning after consuming the state-sanctioned free meal at school.
"This is our fault as the organizer, and we ought to do a complete overhaul," she said in a press conference, quoted from the agency's Instagram live on Friday, September 26, 2025.
Nanik cried while delivering the apology, stating "One live, one sick child, is our responsibility."
Nanik said the agency will take full responsibility for all food poisoning incidents, which includes the recovery costs for all affected children. "Also, if there are parents who consumed the meal and got sick, we will take full responsibility and cover all the costs," she said.
According to Nanik, the government had no intention to harm Indonesian children. She assured that BGN, as the organizer of Prabowo's program, has a good purpose to provide free nutritious meals for children.
"Our intention, our and the president's nawaitu, is to help children meet their nutritional needs," Nanik said. "We admit our fault for what happened, for this incident with food safety."
Over 6,000 People Suffered from Food Poisoning
Based on the current records from the Civil Society Coalition, there have been at least 6,432 people who have suffered from food poisoning after consuming the free nutritious meals by the end of September. This figure records an increase of 1,092 cases compared to the JPPI data from a week before.
In light of this data, the JPPI national coordinator Ubaid Matraji urged the government to suspend the free meal program. "This situation is not normal. The government should immediately declare a state of emergency and temporarily suspend the MBG for a comprehensive evaluation," he said on Wednesday, September 24, 2025.
Several other organizations have also urged the government to temporarily suspend the free nutritious meal program due to the growing issue of food poisoning among students.
One exemplary case of food poisoning occurred to dozens of students and teachers at a public elementary school (SDN) 12 Benua Kayong, Ketapang, on Wednesday. They were suspected of food poisoning after consuming fried shark, which was on the free nutritious meal menu that day.
Editor’s Choice: List of MBG Food Poisoning Cases Across Indonesia, January-September 2025
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