JAKARTA (ANN/THE JAKARTA POST) – Reports of food poisoning, poorly cooked dishes, and spoiled items persistently tarnish President Prabowo Subianto’s primary free nutrition initiative, as officials continue to minimise these occurrences.
On Wednesday, 12 students from Takalar Regency, South Sulawesi, were hospitalised after displaying symptoms of food poisoning due to meals provided by the government at their schools. This signifies the fifth food poisoning case associated with the program since it began last month.
Nilal Fauziah, head of the Takalar Health Agency, said the affected pupils were from three different elementary schools in the regency.
Nevertheless, she noted that officials could not yet verify that the food poisoning cases were caused by the packaged meals, since only 12 of the 97 students consumed the meals exhibited symptoms.
The day before, the East Java Ombudsman found that the fruit and vegetables provided to students at SMP 13 Surabaya state junior high school through the free meals program were rotten and unsuitable for consumption.
The Ombudsman also highlighted that the kitchen preparing the meals never asked the school about students’ allergies nor sought any feedback from the students on the menu, leading to considerable food waste. Moreover, the Ombudsman observed that the kitchen lacked a definite procedure for reviewing the nutritional quality of the meals or measuring their effects on the students.
Two separate food poisoning incidents linked to the free meals program were reported last week.
Eight pupils from SD 7 Tebing Tinggi state elementary school in Empat Lawang regency, South Sumatra, were brought to a healthcare facility after exhibiting signs of food poisoning from their packaged meals. Earlier, multiple videos spread on social media depicting packaged meals provided at the school on Tuesday, featuring fried fish fillet, stir-fried vermicelli noodles, fried tofu and papaya, all teeming with maggots.
In another incident, 29 students from SD Katolik Andaluri Catholic elementary school in Sumba Timur regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), experienced food poisoning after eating a government-provided lunch. The students experienced symptoms of nausea, stomach pain, dizziness and vomiting after eating a meal of fried noodles, fried tempeh and tofu, egg and bananas. They observed that the food had an unusual flavour and seemed spoiled.
Last week, videos of raw, bloody chicken served at SD Inpres 3 Waingapu elementary school in Sumba Timur regency, NTT, went viral on social media.The school principal, Hamuli Ngguna Manggil, noted that students discovered strands of hair in their food, leading many to refuse the meals.
When asked about the raw chicken incident, National Nutrition Agency (BGN) head Dadan Hidayana called it a “technical problem.” He explained that the problem may have arisen due to the caterer’s limited experience in preparing meals on such a large scale, CNN Indonesia reported.
Experts have condemned the government for its evident indifference towards food safety concerns in the free meals initiative, along with its rushed choice to broaden the program without performing a comprehensive assessment.
