750 Students and Teachers at SMAN 1 Lasem Rembang Suffer Mass Diarrhoea, Suspected Due to Free Nutritious Meal Menu

Approximately 750 students and teachers at SMAN 1 Lasem (Smanela) have experienced mass diarrhoea. The incident is suspected to have been caused by the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) menu.

According to reports on Thursday (3/9/2026), teaching and learning activities were halted early due to the incident, and students were sent home. The Principal of SMAN 1 Lasem, Juhartutik, explained that students and teachers began experiencing nausea and diarrhoea around 09:00 WIB.

“In the end, I ordered that every class experiencing diarrhoea be recorded. After the data was collected, there were 20 to 31 people per class. Across 33 classes, a total of 725 students suffered from diarrhoea, along with 25 teachers. Out of a total student population of 1,174 and 95 teachers,” Juhartutik explained.

“Following this, I reported to the Lasem Community Health Centre (Puskesmas) for emergency handling and consulted with the Regional Office (Cabdin); ultimately, we sent our students home,” she added.

Juhartutik noted that the school’s toilets were insufficient to handle the number of people suffering from diarrhoea. The mass outbreak at SMAN 1 Lasem is suspected to be linked to the MBG menu consumed on Wednesday (2/9), which consisted of grilled chicken, white rice, mendoan (fried tempeh), and watermelon.

“It seems to be due to yesterday’s MBG. Here is the situation: there was a team tasting the food, and they found one portion that was slimy, while another was fine. The slimy portion was set aside. The menu was grilled chicken. I clarified with the SPPG that the cooking took place at 3:00 AM, while the students consumed it at 12:00 PM,” she said.

The Head of the Lasem Community Health Centre, Dr Joko Paryanto, stated that three students required hospitalisation.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of Commission IV of the Rembang Regional House of Representatives (DPRD), Muhammad Rofi’i, acknowledged receiving reports regarding the mass diarrhoea incident at SMAN 1 Lasem, suspected to be caused by MBG menu poisoning. He has requested a thorough investigation into the matter.