DKI Health Office Suspects MBG Poisoning in Duren Sawit Caused by Too Long Food Distribution Pause 

JAKARTA - The DKI Jakarta Health Office (Dinkes) revealed the initial cause of the poisoning case in the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program that occurred at a number of schools in the Pondok Kelapa area, Duren Sawit, East Jakarta.

Head of the DKI Jakarta Health Office, Ani Ruspitawati, explained that from the results of the interim analysis, the time factor between the food being cooked and distributed to the recipient is said to be one of the main causes.

"From what we have seen, it is possible that there may be a long time between the cooked food being prepared and then distributed," said Ani at the DKI Jakarta City Hall, Wednesday, April 8.

The spaghetti menu served in the program was allegedly of poor quality due to too long a distribution delay. This was then associated with the emergence of symptoms of poisoning in food recipients.

Ani explained that the suspicion was also strengthened by the pattern of the time when the symptoms appeared in the victims, which mostly occurred after lunch.

"Because that is, if you look at the percentage of victims, most of them are those who enter the afternoon. What is it, a temporary analysis," he said.

Since this case has emerged, the DKI Jakarta Health Office has sent a team to conduct further investigations. The examination was carried out from the processing location, distribution flow, to coordination with related parties.

"But all teams from the beginning have come down, have checked back to make sure where the problem is, so that the SPPG can also evaluate and improve," he explained.

However, the Health Office emphasized that the authority related to the operationalization of the Nutrition Fulfillment Service Unit (SPPG) was not under the local government, but the central government through the National Nutrition Agency (BGN).

Based on data as of Wednesday, April 8, a total of 37 people are still being treated from a total of 104 victims who had access to health services.

The distribution of patients who are still being treated is spread across a number of hospitals. Seven people are being treated at the Duren Sawit Regional Specialty Hospital (RSKD), six people at the Pondok Kopi Islamic Hospital, and 19 people at the Harum Hospital. The rest are in several other hospitals.

The Health Office ensures that all patients are still under the supervision of medical personnel to ensure that their condition has completely recovered before they are allowed to go home.

"So we wait until it is stable, he is really healthy, he is not hot, he is not vomiting anymore, he is not diarrhea, all the complaints have disappeared, he just went home," said Ani.