When 19 Primary School Pupils in Bantul Suspected of Milk Poisoning from Free Nutritious Meal Programme with Strong Odour
Nineteen pupils at SDN Monggang in Srihardono, Pundong, Bantul, experienced symptoms of poisoning after consuming free nutritious meals (MBG). The cause is suspected to be from boxed milk that emitted a strong odour when opened. Here are the facts.
Pupils Discover Maggots
The head of SDN Monggang, Sumarni, said the incident began when the school received a shipment of MBG on Wednesday (8/4) at 08:30 WIB. The MBG was distributed to pupils during break time.
“Then a sixth-grade pupil found maggots wriggling in the pakcoy and ompreng and brought it to the teachers’ office,” she told reporters on Thursday (9/4/2026).
Strong Odour from Boxed Milk
After the discovery of maggots, Sumarni instructed that the uneaten MBG should not be consumed first. There was also ompreng with an unpleasant smell in the teachers’ room.
“After opening the ompreng, it turned out the strong odour came from the boxed milk. That’s why I asked for the boxed milk that the pupils hadn’t drunk yet to be withdrawn so it could be replaced by SPPG,” she said.
19 Pupils Poisoned
Not long after, some pupils showed symptoms of poisoning after consuming the MBG menu. The school took the pupils to Pundong Health Centre.
“It turned out the number of pupils experiencing poisoning symptoms increased to 18. But after receiving medical treatment, they were all allowed to go home,” Sumarni said.
Sumarni also revealed that today there was one pupil who experienced food poisoning symptoms. Thus, the total number of pupils affected is 19.
“Of the 19 pupils, nine have not come to school; we have communicated with their parents, and they said they are still feeling nauseous, dizzy, and have diarrhoea,” she said.
Mystery of the Maggots’ Origin
Regarding the cause of the poisoning symptoms, Sumarni suspects it came from the boxed milk. However, Sumarni said the milk’s expiry date is 2027.
“But when pouring the contents of the boxed milk, maggots were seen wriggling. So whether the maggots in the pakcoy came from the maggots in the boxed milk or not, I don’t know,” she said.
Response from Head of SPPG Srihardono 1
Meanwhile, the head of SPPG Srihardono 1, Septiyanto, did not want to say much about the incident. However, Septiyanto assured that for the time being, SPPG would not operate.
“If the laboratory results come out, we will provide an official statement; clearly today SPPG is temporarily not operating,” he said.
SPPG Temporarily Closed
The Bantul Regency Government (Pemkab) stated that it has temporarily closed the Satuan Pelayanan Pemenuhan Gizi (SPPG), which supplies free nutritious meals (MBG) to SDN Monggang, resulting in 19 people suspected of poisoning.
“For the SPPG suspected of causing the poisoning, it has been temporarily closed, and when it will reopen is under the authority of BGN (Badan Gizi Nasional),” said Assistant for Government and People’s Welfare of the Bantul Regency Regional Secretariat (Setda), Hermawan Setiaji, to reporters in Bantul on Thursday (9/4/2026).
Health Department Takes Milk Samples
Regarding the cause of the poisoning at SDN Monggang, Hermawan suspects it was due to one of the MBG menus. However, to confirm it, Hermawan said the Health Department (Dinkes) has taken food samples for subsequent laboratory testing.
“The initial suspicion is that the MBG poisoning came from the milk menu. But to confirm it, milk samples have been taken by Dinkes for laboratory testing,” he said.
Strengthen Supervision
Hermawan also said that Pemkab has taken steps to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future. One of them is by strengthening supervision through the Kapanewon or sub-district level.
“In the future, MBG supervision will be synergised with ranks at the Kapanewon level, so not only the food but also mitigating the food supply chain to SPPG,” he said.