Zulhas Speaks Candidly: Numerous Problems at BGN

The government is putting the brakes on several agendas within the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme as an evaluation is carried out at the National Nutrition Agency (BGN). Coordinating Minister for Food Zulkifli Hasan has spoken candidly, stating that many issues must be resolved before the programme can be expanded further. The management of MBG has recently faced various problems, ranging from alleged irregularities to cases of food poisoning in several regions. According to Zulhas, the government’s current focus is not on adding new programmes or building new facilities, but rather on ensuring the existing system is fixed first. “The problems at BGN are numerous. So now the internal matters are being addressed first, reviewed, while other activities are temporarily halted. The new ones are stopped first,” Zulhas said at the DPR on Monday (22/6/2026). One focus of the overhaul is the management of food supply kitchens, which have been the frontline of MBG implementation. The government believes that food safety standards must be tightened so that incidents endangering the health of beneficiaries do not recur. “Then the governance is also being improved. The kitchens, yes, they are also being audited. Even though this is a matter of one or two of our children, poisoning must not happen again. Once this is fixed, we will continue with MBG further,” he stated. As a form of control function, Presidential Chief of Staff, General (Ret.) Dudung Abdurachman, has conducted unannounced inspections at several Nutritional Fulfilment Service Units (SPPG). From direct field observations, the Presidential Staff Office found many service units that have adopted operational standards very well. “From these spot checks, the Presidential Staff Office found SPPGs that have been operating according to standards, from kitchen cleanliness, food ingredient quality, food safety, distribution accuracy, to service for beneficiaries. These SPPGs that are already up to standard can be used as pilot models, so that good practices in the field can be replicated in other areas, while of course adjusting to the conditions and needs of each region,” Dudung explained at the Presidential Palace Complex in Jakarta on Friday (19/6/2026).