DPR Member Demands Systemic Evaluation of Free Nutritious Meal Programme After Recurring Food Poisoning Incidents
Jakarta, VIVA – Pulung Agustanto, a member of Commission IX of the House of Representatives (DPR RI), has highlighted an incident of suspected food poisoning affecting 117 students at SMPN 1 Kras in Kediri Regency, East Java. The episode, triggered by the consumption of Free Nutritious Meal (Makan Bergizi Gratis, MBG) menu items on Thursday, 23 July 2026, has prompted a worrying chain of reactions.
The students were reported to have experienced nausea, severe abdominal pain and vomiting. This not only threatens their physical health but also disrupts concentration and the teaching and learning process at school.
“To this day, six students still have to receive treatment in hospital,” Pulung said in a written statement on Tuesday, 28 July 2026.
Pulung deeply regretted the irony occurring amid the government’s major effort to improve the nutritional quality of the nation’s children. The MBG programme, which should be a symbol of the state’s care for the younger generation, has instead become a source of health threats.
According to him, this is not the first time such an incident has occurred, and a concerning pattern is beginning to emerge.
“This is truly shameful and disheartening. A programme initiated to educate and improve the health of the nation’s children has instead ended up sacrificing students’ health,” said the PDIP politician.
The incident in Kediri, Pulung continued, is an alarm that can no longer be ignored. He highlighted the weak oversight and the lack of standard operating procedures applied by catering providers at the regional level.
Food distribution processes with no guaranteed hygiene, unmonitored supply chains for raw ingredients, and a lack of discipline in applying sanitation and hygiene standards are critical variables that must be fixed immediately.
With numerous incidents occurring in various regions since the programme began, Pulung believes there is reason to suspect a systemic problem that needs to be addressed. Without comprehensive handling, similar incidents will keep recurring.
As a form of responsibility and early prevention, Pulung urged that the operations of the catering provider serving the school be suspended during the ongoing investigation.
This step is important to prevent further victims and to allow the provider to undergo a thorough hygiene audit.
“Incidents like this have occurred at many points, in various regions across Indonesia. The question is, do the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) and the kitchen operators in the regions not want to learn from these bitter experiences? Or are we trapped in the same cycle of an incident occurring, an uproar, then forgetting, and it happening again?” he concluded.