BGN Upgrades MBG Poisoning Case to Fatal Status, SPPG Heads Face Dismissal

The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has elevated the status of a food poisoning case under the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme from a notable incident to a fatal occurrence. The decision was made because the poisoning directly concerns the safety and health of beneficiaries, particularly children. ‘We have upgraded the status; the poisoning case is no longer a notable incident but a fatal occurrence, because it involves people’s lives and health conditions,’ said BGN Head Sudaryono in Jakarta on Monday. He stressed that children’s health and safety are a top priority, given they are usually under family supervision. Sudaryono expressed hope that the poisoning case in Semarang, Central Java, would be the last. ‘We hope the poisoning case in Semarang, Central Java, will be the first and the last since I became the head of this agency. For every poisoning case, we will impose strict sanctions. First, the kitchen or Nutrition Fulfilment Service Unit (SPPG) will be suspended while we investigate the laboratory results with the local health office,’ he stated. BGN will conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the involved SPPG to determine the cause of the incident. The examination will cover the implementation of hygiene standards, food safety procedures, and a probe into the personnel responsible for the kitchen. ‘Whether the hygiene standards were not met or other factors, including an internal investigation into the employees working there, especially the person most responsible, the head of the SPPG,’ Sudaryono said. He confirmed that any MBG kitchen whose operations are temporarily halted will see its SPPG head removed during the investigation process. BGN will also assess whether there was negligence or other factors before deciding on further sanctions. ‘We will see if this was negligence or if there were other elements, we will investigate further, and this will be our consideration in deciding the next steps, whether dismissal is necessary or the extension of their Government Employee with Work Agreement (PPPK) status will not be continued,’ Sudaryono added. He asserted that BGN implements a zero-tolerance policy towards any poisoning cases within the MBG programme. Information disclosure to the public will also be strengthened so that parents and schools can know in detail the food received by children.