More than 25,000 MBG kitchens inspected, with some halted immediately for being unfit

Garut, VIVA – The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) continues to strengthen oversight in the implementation of the Free Nutritious Food Program (MBG). This includes hosting a Food Handler Technical Guidance (Bimbingan Teknis Penjamah Makanan, Bimtek) and expediting the issue of the Certificate of Hygienic Sanitation (SLHS) for kitchens belonging to Satuan Pelayanan Pemenuhan Gizi (SPPG). The event took place on 7–8 March 2026 and was conducted simultaneously across eight regions of the Program Nutrition Fulfillment Coordination Offices (KPPG): Jakarta, Bogor, Bandung, Cirebon, Semarang, Sleman, Surabaya, and Jember. Each day the programme drew around 500 participants, including the heads of SPPG, partner organisations or managing foundations, nutrition inspectors, field assistants and cooks. In Garut Regency, the event was held at the Harmoni Hotel on Saturday–Sunday, 7–8 March 2026. At this venue, about 800 participants from various stakeholders involved in SPPG operations took part in the training as part of the MBG kitchen certification process. Deputy Head of the National Nutrition Agency for Operational Nutrition Fulfilment, Inspector General of Police (Ret) Sony Sonjaya, said the training is an important prerequisite for kitchens providing nutritious meals to obtain certification of sanitation readiness. “This Food Handler Training is one of the requirements to obtain the Certificate of Hygienic Sanitation (SLHS), and with SLHS these activities under the Free Nutritious Food Program (MBG) or nutritious meal production can be carried out in one place where the facilities and infrastructure are guaranteed to be clean and healthy. Hence it is called Hygienic Sanitation Readiness,” he said, quoted on Sunday, 8 March 2026. According to Sony, the government is currently pushing all SPPG kitchen operators to promptly pursue certification. He even stressed that kitchens that do not register the certification process within 30 days of being declared operational may face sanctions. “If registration has not been completed within 30 days, the BGN will suspend or halt the operation of the SPPG,” he said. He disclosed that to date the BGN had conducted inspections of tens of thousands of MBG program kitchens spread across various regions. “According to him, as of last night there were 25,061 SPPG kitchens that we had inspected on the ground by the Directorates of Monitoring and Oversight,” he said. During the supervision process, they found several kitchens that did not meet sanitation standards. Some were given warnings and some were even halted from operating.