Nine Sore Tulungagung Vocational High School Students Allegedly Poisoned by MBG

TULUNGAGUNG - Nine students from SMK Sore Tulungagung, East Java, are undergoing treatment at the Beji Health Center after complaining of symptoms of digestive disorders that allegedly appeared after consuming Free Nutritious Meals (MBG).

The Tulungagung MBG Task Force together with the local Health Office moved quickly by conducting a search to ensure the cause of the complaint.

Deputy Head of Sore Tulungagung Vocational School for Facilities and Infrastructure Ahmad Yuwan said that as many as 2,627 students at the school received MBG supplied by the Moyoketen I Nutrition Fulfillment Service Unit (SPPG).

He explained that the distribution of MBG, which was originally scheduled at 09.00 WIB, was postponed to 10.00 WIB. Students who received MBG were divided into several batches and all food portions were consumed.

"About an hour after eating, nine students complained of nausea and stomach discomfort," said Ahmad Yuwan as reported by ANTARA, Thursday, January 22.

The nine students, who are all grade X students, were then referred to the Beji Health Center for treatment. The MBG menu served was white rice, katsu, and orange fruit.

According to Ahmad, visually the food served did not show signs of being stale and had also been tasted by the school before being distributed to students.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases of the Tulungagung Health Office, dr. Aris Setiawan said that his party conducted direct observation of the students who were treated.

He said that the complaints experienced by students included nausea, heartburn, vomiting, and diarrhea, which appeared about an hour after consuming MBG.

However, based on the confessions of a number of students, some of them had eaten food from outside the school before the MBG was distributed.

"We are still investigating whether this complaint is purely due to MBG or influenced by other factors, because there are students who have previously consumed food from outside," said Aris.

Aris explained that the change in the MBG distribution schedule was carried out because the number of targets at SMK Sore Tulungagung reached around 2,900 students, while the capacity of the SPPG Moyoketen I service was 2,627 servings, so that adjustments to the distribution time were needed.

The Health Office together with the MBG Task Force is still continuing to monitor and collect data on students to ensure the source of complaints and prevent similar incidents from recurring.