Urges For Evaluation And Moratorium In The Midst Of Repeated Cases Of MBG Toxics

JAKARTA More than 5,000 cases of food poisoning related to the Free Nutrition Food program or MBG have been reported. However, the government emphasized that this flagship program is still running.

The MBG program has been in controversy since the first run by President Prabowo Subianto's administration in January. But recently, this project has become increasingly in the spotlight following the many cases of food poisoning.

In Baubau, Southeast Sulawesi, cases of poisoning occurred on Tuesday (16/9/2025). A total of 46 children were poisoned by MBG products.

The cause is thought to be a liquefied and smelled chicken menu, but it is still served and eaten by students. As a result, 37 children were poisoned and treated in a number of health facilities.

The West Bandung Regency Government even designated a case of mass poisoning as an Extraordinary Event on Tuesday (23/9), after hundreds of students were found to have been poisoned. They come from different schools, ranging from elementary, junior high, and high school levels.

The case of mass poisoning that occurred in the MBG program of course attracted public attention, and raised serious concerns, especially among parents.

Instead of improving the nutrition of the underprivileged, this series of incidents not only had an impact on thousands of victims, but also had to be an important note of government programs.

According to Ubaid Matraji's Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI) monitoring, from January to mid-September 2025, there were no less than 5,360 children who were poisoned due to the MBG program.

JPPI National Coordinator Ubaid Matraji believes that the number can be greater because so far there has been no transparency from either schools or local governments.

"This fact shows that the MBG program has failed to protect children, and has even turned into a serious threat to the future of the nation's generation," Ubaid told VOI.

Although the case of food poisoning is in the spotlight, the government emphasizes that the MBG program is still running. Deputy Minister of State Secretary and Spokesperson for President Juri Ardiantoro said that cases of poisoning in students after eating food from the MBG program were not something they expected. The government promised to immediately take quick steps to overcome the problem.

The jury assured that the government continues to listen to input and aspirations from various circles, including the pressure to evaluate the total or temporary suspension of MBG. However, he continued, various improvements had been made without having to stop the MBG program in total.

"Until today, MBG is still running and I think the problems that have occurred will be inventoried, evaluated by the government to find a way out," said the jury.

Ubaid Matraji assessed that the various obstacles encountered throughout the MBG program showed the complexity of this problem. Starting from the poisoning case, the alleged use of the budget was not optimal, to the findings of food displays indicated to contain pork oil. Problems also do not occur in just one place. According to Ubaid, this shows that problems in the MBG program occur systematically.

"If cases only occur in Garut or DIY, it means the problem is there. However, if it has spread to almost all provinces, in our opinion it is not a technical problem," he explained.

Given the repeated cases of MBG poisoning, Ubaid urged the moratorium. Cases of food poisoning in children and adolescents show that the MBG program fails to protect children.

"President and BGN should not play with the lives of the nation's children. If this program really takes sides with children, stop it now before more victims fall," he said.

This could be a big tragedy for child safety. Get rid of the target first, about budget absorption. Prioritize the safety of children's lives," Ubaid added.

Meanwhile, the founder and CEO of the Center for Indonesia's Strategic Development Initiatives (CISDI) Diah Saminarsih said that cases of poisoning due to MBG could be an iceberg phenomenon. The actual number of cases may be more than reported, because the government has not provided a reporting system that can be accessed by the public.

"The root of the Free Nutrition Food program problem is the government's ambition to target 82.9 million beneficiaries by the end of 2025," he said.

Diah added that it was this ambition to immediately achieve the target that made the MBG program carried out in a hurry. This has an impact on the quality of food supply governance and distribution of food in the MBG program which is not well organized.

The MBG program was originally designed to improve the nutritional status of the community, but in its implementation, there were many problems. Diah said this was because there was no thorough preparation ranging from aspects of regulation, food safety, nutritional adequacy, to monitoring and evaluation.

Even though it has been going on for months, the presidential regulation that should be the legal umbrella for the MBG program has not yet been issued. This has an impact on institutional governance being unclear, ranging from coordination between ministries or institutions, central and regional government relations, to multi-party cooperation arrangements.

According to Diah, the absence of a legal umbrella for MBG and technical guidance as well as the lack of a monitoring system has triggered various kinds of problems in the field. In addition to cases of food poisoning, the MBG menu in many schools is also colored by ultraprocess food products and high- sugar milk. Provision of ultraprocess food does not improve nutrition, it actually triggers excess weight and obesity in children and adolescents.

"The effect is actually counterproductive to MBG's initial goal, namely improving the nutritional status of Indonesian children," he continued.

Therefore, Diah also encouraged the government to evaluate the total MBG program. He is worried that if the government insists on implementing MBG without a total evaluation, cases of poisoning will continue to occur and threaten the health of children.

"While the government's efforts to restore the rights of children who are victims of poisoning are still unclear," he said.