MBG Package Contains UPF Food, Watch the Impact

Elementary school students eat MBG at school/ Photo: IST

JAKARTA - The free nutritious meal package (MBG) given during the school holidays has come under scrutiny. In addition to being considered a waste of budget, this policy is considered not in line with the slogan of the program itself, namely providing free nutritious meals.

The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) insists on providing MBG packages even though almost all schools in Indonesia are on their first semester break, in conjunction with the Christmas holidays in 2025 and 2026. In the MBG package provided, it generally contains stale bread, peas, biscuits, scrambled eggs, and fruit.

However, the provision of this dry food package then became a discussion. The public assessed that the dry food or packaged drinks provided contained a fairly high sugar content, so it was far from being nutritious.

In fact, a number of parents found that the MBG package provided was close to its expiration date.

Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) Dr. Ir. Dadan Hindayana/ Photo: IST

Unhealthy Food Packages

The distribution of MBG during school holidays is contained in the Decree of the Head of the National Nutrition Agency Number 52 of 2025 concerning Technical Guidelines for the Management of the Free Nutritional Meal Program during School Holidays.

The regulation states that adjustments to free nutritious meal packages during holidays still consider aspects of nutritional fulfillment, hygiene, food safety and practicality as well as neatness in food packaging.

However, seeing the public's recognition of the dry food menu provided, nutritionist Tan Shot Yen said that processed foods in the MBG package can be said to be unhealthy.

Doctor Tan admitted that he was surprised because in the reference made by BGN, the menu was not clear because it only mentioned bread, eggs, and milk. In fact, bread is not a staple food in tropical countries like Indonesia.

"How can you eat bread in a tropical country like this that is supposed to be stored for three to six days? Yes, it is clear that it is found with the tropical climate in Indonesia," he said.

The reference menu given by BGN was finally followed by the management of the Nutrition Fulfillment Service (SPPG) by adding various dry foods that are included in ultra-processed foods or UPF.

UPF Increases Cancer Risk

UPF is a term used to describe foods that have undergone many stages of industrial processing.

Not only cooked or preserved, UPF is usually made from extracted materials, such as starch, isolated proteins, hydrogenated oils, which are then mixed with additives such as artificial sweeteners, dyes, flavor enhancers, preservatives, and emulsifiers. These ingredients are rarely found in the home kitchen.

Illustration of processed food/ Photo: IST

The characteristic of UPF is its very attractive appearance, intense taste, practical consumption, and can last a long time on the store shelf. No wonder products such as instant noodles, sweet biscuits, sausages, nuggets, packaged snacks, carbonated drinks, and ready-to-eat frozen foods fall into this category.

Providing UPF food in the MBG program is unfortunate for many parties. UPF is often associated with unhealthy food because it is usually high in calories, salt and sugar, and low in saturated fat but low in fiber, vitamins and minerals.

The circulation of UPF itself is a concern in Indonesia, even globally. Excessive consumption of UPF has the potential to change eating patterns to unhealthy and increase the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

This is supported by the publication of Critical Review in Food Science and Nutrition in 2025. Another study published in Nutrition Journal in 2020 examined hundreds of thousands of participants who were also associated with the consumption of UPF with obesity, metabolic syndrome, and depression.

Actually, if we go further, the problem is not only about additives in UPF, but how these foods affect the pattern of the person as a whole.

Impact on Mental Health

UPF, according to a number of studies, tends to make people eat more because it is designed to be very tasty and difficult to stop (palatable).

In addition, its texture is usually soft and practical, and the minimal fiber makes the eating process faster, so that the brain does not have time to send a fullness signal.

Yogyakarta Muhammadiyah University (UMY) Public Health Expert Dr. dr Merita Arini, MMR, emphasized that the surge in UPF consumption not only threatens physical health, but also has an impact on mental health.

The term UPF, said dr, Merita, refers to the highest category in the NOVA Food Classification system developed by Brazilian scientists.

Illustration

"UPF," said Dr. Merita, "includes foods that are intensively processed using industrial techniques so that their original shape and structure are almost lost.

"Ultra-processed foods are very far from their natural ingredients. The original content is little, while additives such as additives, flavors, preservatives, and other chemicals actually dominate. In crackers or snacks, for example, the main ingredients such as potatoes can only be five percent," explained dr. Merita, quoting the UMY website.

"There are studies that show the relationship between UPF and sleep disorders, anxiety, and other psychological disorders. This is because UPF is pro-inflammatory. Low nutrition, high calories, high salt levels, and additives cause chronic low-grade inflammation in the body," he said.

In children, the habit of consuming UPF in excess can be associated with an increased risk of obesity, cavities, and decreased quality of balanced patterns.

Long-term studies also show that the eating patterns formed in childhood tend to persist into adulthood. In other words, if you are used to UPF food since school, this is likely to be carried over into adulthood.

That is why in the MBG program it is best not to rely on UPF foods such as nuggets, sausages, biscuits, and so on in order to achieve the initial goal of improving the nutritional status of children to become the golden generation.