Victims Of Poisoning Are Not Just Statistics, The Government Should Not Underestimate Problems

JAKARTA President Prabowo Subianto's statement regarding the statistics of poisoning cases in the Free Nutrition Eating program or MBG is considered by observers to be reducing problems.

Recently, Prabowo said that the number of cases of MBG poisoning was less than one percent of the total 30 million beneficiaries.

"Thirty million children and pregnant women receive food every day, that there is a shortage, yes, there is food poisoning. We calculate that from all foods that come out of irregularities, shortages, or mistakes, it is 0.00017 percent," said Prabowo in Cileungsi, Bogor Regency, West Java, Monday (29/9/2025).

On the same occasion, Prabowo was also reluctant to mention the number of poisoning cases as a sign that his flagship program had failed.

The general chairman of the Gerindra Party also emphasized that his flagship program will continue despite the flood of criticism.

Statistics regarding food poisoning, called Prabowo, are less than one percent, considered an expression that underestimates the problem. In fact, what is discussed is not solely about the statit, but children who should receive nutritious and safe food.

Regarding the MBG poisoning rate of 0.00017 percent, the President did not say the exact value. However, if it is calculated from the 30 million recipients he submitted, it is approximately equivalent to 5.100 cases. Meanwhile, if it is calculated from 1 billion servings of food distributed, according to BGN claims, it means that there are 1.700 cases.

Nutritionist dr. Tan Shot Yen criticized Prabowo's statement that the MBG poisoning case did not reach one percent of the total food that had been distributed to beneficiaries.

Regarding this claim, Tan assessed that Prabowo only considered the victim who according to him almost lost his life due to MBG poisoning as a mere statistic. Prabowo's perspective, said Tan, can only be applied if it does not involve people's lives.

"We must be able to distinguish between cases of poisoning involving human life compared to errors in quality control if at the shoe factory, yes. If at the shoe factory, what is the percentage error, that's fine," said Tan, quoted by Kompas.

"But this is a human coincidence. You can imagine if the poisoned child is our relative or our own child. So, human life cannot be beaten by statistical calculations," he continued.

Meanwhile, public health expert Hermawan Saputra said poisoning is not something that can be taken lightly even though the numbers are small, according to the president.

"Of course poisoning is an unwanted incident. Incidents like this cannot be considered normal and cannot be compared to numbers per number," said Hermawan.

Returning to the statistical issues presented by Prabowo. If you look at recent national media reports, the public should question Prabowo's statement, whether the president has miscalculated or not received accurate information?

According to claims by the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) there were 4,711 children poisoned in the January to September 22. Meanwhile, the Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI) recorded 8,649 children poisoned until September 27, 2025, and the number continued to grow.

Talking about statistics, Ahmad Arif, author of the book Indigenous Peoples and Food Sovereignty, said in the classic book How to Lie with Statistics (1954)

The first trick is false preparation. The figure of 0.00017 percent sounds very precise, as if the government has neat, verifiable, and accurate data. In fact, precision is not the same as accuracy.

This figure also gives rise to an illusion, even though the counting method is not mentioned.

"Cases are calculated based on whose report? What about cases that are not reported? In fact, the recorded health and poisoning problems generally include the tip of the iceberg," wrote Ahmad Arif in the Kompas column.

The second trick is to choose the percentage over the absolute number. Statistics are relatively often used to reduce problems. Only mentioning 0.00017 percent, according to Ahmad, gives a small impression in cases of poisoning. In fact, in the issue of food safety, absolute numbers are much more ethical.

"One child is poisoned in school alone. Especially if the number is in the thousands, it's a sign of a system failure," he added.

However, poisoning due to MBG that occurs in a number of regions in Indonesia is not just a number in statistics. The government needs to realize that children are a group vulnerable to food congenital diseases.

Unlike adults, the children's immune system is not strong enough, so poisoning can have a severe impact or even death. In many countries that have school eating programs, the principle of zero tolerance for poisoning incidents is strictly enforced.

Ahmad said, the principle of food safety includes HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) standards, kitchen certification and vendors, cooking hygiene training, storage temperature control, tracking (traceability batch) food, to rapid investigation of each case.

All of this is designed so that poisoning incidents can be prevented, not just minimized. The question is, has this standard been implemented in MBG?

"In a crisis situation, the government must be honest, transparent, and solution. Communication that reduces the problem actually undermines public trust. They want to know why children can be poisoned, what is being repaired, who is responsible," Ahmad explained.

Statistics are not just a percentage, but children who are sick. Ahmad emphasized that he was not rejecting the MBG program. The idea of giving free and healthy lunch, according to him, is an important policy against malnutrition and inequality.

"However, a good program will collapse if the execution is bad. In public health logic, every poisoning incident in school children is a serious failure," he stressed.

"Only one child should be an alarm. Thousands of children are loud sirens. We don't need statistics to cover up the problem. We need a system that is completely safe and not corrupted," Ahmad concluded.