BGN reminds SPPG not to react directly to baseless narratives on social media

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Deputy Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), in charge of Communications and Investigations, Nanik Sudaryati Deyang, reminded the Satuan Pelayanan Pemenuhan Gizi (SPPG) not to be reactive in addressing baseless narratives on social media regarding the Free Nutritious Meals Programme (MBG).

Nanik cited several incidents that had spurred discussion, such as alleged foreign objects found in foods and mass poisoning concerns in several regions. After investigation, some of these incidents did not fully align with the narratives circulating on social media.

“Some incidents do occur in the field, but narratives are often amplified and can even become hoaxes. Therefore, all SPPG managers would do well to focus closely on the food preparation process to ensure quality and food safety,” she said in a formal statement in Jakarta on Sunday.

The deputy head of BGN also cited one MBG menu that went viral on social media for allegedly consisting only of noodles and a banana. However, after confirmation with the SPPG and the recipient schools, the menu was found to include chicken as well.

Another case is a video widely circulated showing the MBG programme being rejected at MTs 4 and MAN 8 in Cilincing, North Jakarta. After verification, it was found that there are no such schools MTs 4 or MAN 8 in the Cilincing area.

From these cases, Nanik emphasised that managing food for large volumes indeed presents its own challenges, especially in ensuring doneness and cleanliness standards.

“This cooking has already used a range of modern tools, yet there are still poisoning cases, right? Actually, not poisoning, in my view it’s more about governance systems,” she said.

Nanik also reminded the SPPG again of the importance of food sanitation standards, especially regarding the use of water heaters in washing ompreng in the MBG kitchen, as part of efforts to maintain hygiene of tableware used in the MBG programme.