Regent: 88 Students Still Hospitalised Following Alleged Food Poisoning in Sidoarjo
The Regent of Sidoarjo, Subandi, has stated that 88 students from the Manba’ul Hikam Islamic Boarding School (Ponpes) in Sidoarjo, victims of suspected food poisoning on Tuesday (1/9), are still undergoing medical treatment in several local hospitals.
“There are 88 people remaining under care in various hospitals in Sidoarjo since Tuesday. In total, there were 566 victims from the boarding school, while 478 students have already returned to their respective homes,” said Subandi after visiting the Kali Tengah Nutrition Fulfilment Service Unit (SPPG) in Tanggulangin District, Sidoarjo, East Java, on Wednesday.
He emphasised that since the incident occurred, all affected students have been well-managed by both government and private hospitals in the region.
The Kali Tengah SPPG, which serves Manba’ul Hikam and several other educational institutions, was found to be licensed. However, the Sidoarjo Regency Government discovered that 31 other SPPGs operating within the Sidoarjo area do not yet possess the necessary permits.
“A total of 170 SPPGs are operating in Sidoarjo, and 31 of them have not obtained licences. We have reported these findings to the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) for follow-up, to ensure such incidents do not recur and do not disrupt the government’s priority programmes,” said Subandi.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Coordinator of the BGN for the East Java Region, Tegu Bayu Wibowo, stated that his office has coordinated directly with the Head of the BGN, Sudaryono, regarding the incident.
He noted that the BGN has issued a temporary suspension of operations for the SPPG in question, effective from Wednesday (2/9), to allow for an investigation into the incident.
“There will be an investigation by the central BGN to determine whether there will be a light or heavy suspension regarding the operations of the SPPG,” said Teguh.
Teguh emphasised that they are currently awaiting laboratory test results for the food served, which are expected to be completed in at least one week.