Free Nutritious Meal Programme Expected to Boost Domestic Dairy Processing Industry
The Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme is expected to provide momentum to strengthen the national dairy processing industry, with benefits not only for cheese producers but also for dairy farmers and milk cooperatives across the regions.
"If there is goodwill to develop domestic milk, farmers will not only depend on selling raw milk. They can move into processing, producing goods with added value," said Mazaraat Artisan Cheese Founder Muhammad Najmi, known as Jamie, on a YouTube channel monitored in Jakarta on Friday.
Domestically produced dairy products such as cheese and butter are also considered worthy of consideration for the programme’s menu due to their high nutritional content and ease of distribution.
Najmi noted that cheese has advantages in terms of nutrient density and shelf life, making it a viable option for the MBG programme. "If you ask whether it is easier to send one hundred litres of milk or ten kilograms of cheese, the answer is definitely ten kilograms of cheese. The volume is smaller, but the nutrition is the same or even higher. Fresh milk only lasts a few days, whereas cheese can last up to a year, and some types even longer," he said.
He added that cheese can also add value to fresh milk produced by local farmers, transforming it from a direct consumption commodity into a product with higher economic value. "If we are truly committed to building children’s nutrition through MBG, consider cheese. There are domestic products with accountable production processes, standardisation, and certification," Najmi stated.
Meanwhile, Naaya Artisan Butter Founder Ardani Yusuf Prawira said local butter products also have the opportunity to grow alongside rising public awareness of food quality. "We hope products like these can become better known, not just as premium items, but also as part of the development of Indonesia’s dairy industry," Ardani said.
Beyond promoting the use of local products, both founders noted that many people still do not understand the difference between natural cheese and the processed cheese widely sold on the market, despite their significantly different compositions. "We are used to eating cheese that is not one hundred percent cheese. The commercial cheese commonly consumed generally contains only about ten to twenty percent cheese, while the rest is a mixture of other ingredients," Ardani explained.
Najmi added that if cheese or butter is considered for the MBG menu, the products used should be natural and made from one hundred percent milk to ensure children receive optimal nutrition. "If there is a claim that one hundred grams of cheese is equivalent to one litre of milk, that claim can only be attached to natural cheese that is truly produced from milk, not mixed with flour. So if cheese or butter is included in the MBG menu, the products used should be one hundred percent derived from milk," Najmi said.
Mazaraat Artisan Cheese has been producing artisan cheese since 2015 in the Special Region of Yogyakarta. Meanwhile, Naaya Artisan Butter was developed by Najmi together with Ardani in Pamijahan, Bogor Regency, West Java.