40 Students Poisoned In Sukoharjo, Palace: Government Evaluates MBG SOP

Illustration of free nutritious food (ANTARA)

Head of the Presidential Communication Office (PCO), Hasan Nasbi, confirmed that incidents of alleged child poisoning after eating Free Nutrition (MBG) in Sukoharjo, Central Java, had been handled according to standard operational procedures (SOP).

As many as 40 children who experienced symptoms of nausea and vomiting were immediately treated at the nearest health center. Hasan confirmed that their condition had now improved.

"The SOP in the MBG program requires schools to report to SPPG and puskesmas in the event of an incident. The food indicated was immediately withdrawn by the SPPG and replaced with another menu," Hasan explained in his statement.

SPPG, abbreviating from the Nutrition Fulfillment Service Unit, is tasked with managing soup kitchens that cook and distributing free nutritious food to children, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and toddlers. Each SPPG kitchen is supervised by a nutritionist to ensure the safety of the food served.

Hasan added that every SPPG is required to keep food samples for 2 x 24 hours. This allows tracking of the cause of the incident, as happened in Sukoharjo. "Currently, food samples are being examined by the health department," he added.

This incident came to the attention of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), the institution responsible for the MBG program. The head of BGN, Dadan Hindayana, said that the incident at SDN Dukuh 03 Sukoharjo was caused by an error in processing chickens in the food menu.

"After symptoms of nausea and vomiting appeared, health workers moved quickly. The menu distributed to students was immediately withdrawn and replaced," said Dadan.

Hasan emphasized that this incident was an important evaluation to tighten the implementation of SOPs and ensure the quality and hygiene of food in the MBG program, which is a priority of the Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's government.