BPOM Allocates Rp 509 Billion for 2027 to Oversee Free Nutritious Meal Programme
The Indonesian Food and Drug Authority (BPOM) has allocated a budget of Rp 509 billion for the 2027 fiscal year to oversee food safety within the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme.
“The Rp 509 billion budget was indeed proposed by BPOM. As I recall, Rp 1.2 trillion was initially proposed specifically for the MBG oversight, but ultimately Rp 509 billion was approved,” stated the Head of BPOM, Taruna Ikrar, following a meeting with Commission IX of the House of Representatives (DPR) in Jakarta on Thursday.
He explained that from a total ceiling of Rp 1.93 trillion for next year, 67.79 per cent will be used for operational expenditure, which includes salaries and allowances (Rp 1.05 trillion) as well as office operations and maintenance (Rp 264.42 billion).
Meanwhile, the remaining 32.21 per cent is allocated for BPOM’s non-operational expenditure, namely the National Priority Work Programme (PKPN) for the MBG (Rp 509 billion) and the execution of food and drug supervisory duties and functions (Rp 115 billion).
Ikrar explained that the oversight of the MBG will be carried out in accordance with Presidential Regulation Number 115 of 2025 regarding the Governance of the MBG Programme Implementation.
“Articles 24, paragraphs (2) to (7) are very explicit that we begin with monitoring raw material safety, education, management, distribution, and presentation, as well as mitigation in the event of issues,” he said.
During the meeting, he informed legislators in the health and social security sectors that the 2027 MBG oversight will consist of preventive activities, tracing and follow-up improvements, and surveillance.
Preventive activities include assisting nutrition fulfilment service units (SPPG), education and the cultivation of food safety, risk prevention based on studies, and strengthening the capacity of BPOM technical implementation units.
On the other hand, tracing and follow-up activities aim to respond to findings and ensure evaluation. This cluster of activities includes incident investigation, supply chain tracing, corrective actions, and post-finding supervision.
Surveillance activities, consisting of sampling and testing, aim to ensure data-based food safety. One such surveillance activity involves testing MBG samples to check for compliance with standards.
“Through this, we can record which regions are vulnerable so that we can trace them. Our hope is that there will be no extraordinary incidents, such as food poisoning among our children. If it does occur, we can quickly trace it for mitigation to ensure it does not happen again,” Ikrar explained.