MBG Contributes 48 Percent Of Toxic Cases, Commission IX Of The House Of Representatives Urges BGN To Strengthen Food Security

A student from SMK Kandeman in Batang Regency, Semarang, was taken to Batang Hospital after being poisoned by the MBG menu, Friday, October 31, 2025. (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Member of Commission IX DPR RI, Netty Prasetiyani Aher asked the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) to follow up on findings showing that around 48 percent of national food poisoning cases were sourced from the Free Nutrition Food Program (MBG). He encouraged BGN to strengthen MBG's food security.

"This is a serious alarm to strengthen food safety aspects and governance in the implementation of the MBG program in the field," Netty told reporters, Friday, November 14.

Previously, the Head of the National Nutrition Agency Dadan Hindayana said that there were 441 cases of food poisoning in Indonesia to date and 211 of them came from the MBG program. If perceived, MBG accounts for 48 percent of the total cases of food poisoning in Indonesia.

Netty assessed that BGN's findings should be a momentum to carry out a thorough evaluation of the implementation of the program. "We know that the MBG program has a very good goal, namely ensuring that children get adequate nutritional intake. Therefore, we all have an interest so that its implementation is truly safe and quality," he said.

According to Netty, the high number of food poisoning shows that supervision of the Nutrition Fulfillment Service Unit (SPPG) in various regions is still not optimal. Therefore, he asked for supervision of the implementation of MBG to be further tightened.

"Children who receive MBG are vulnerable groups. Therefore, food safety standards in the kitchen and in the distribution process must be strict. Local governments and technical agencies need to ensure that kitchens that are not as good as are immediately fostered or temporarily suspended," said Netty.

Furthermore, the member of the Commission in partnership with BGN emphasized the importance of accelerating the completion and application of Presidential Regulation (Perpres) on Governance of the MBG Program. Netty assessed that the Presidential Decree would be a strong legal basis in setting quality standards, food security, and cross-sectoral monitoring mechanisms.

"We hope that the Presidential Decree on the Governance of the MBG will immediately be implemented so that there is clarity of regulations and responsibilities between agencies. With a strong legal basis, the government can take firmer action against violations and prevent similar cases from recurring," explained Netty.

In addition to the regulatory and technical aspects, Netty also reminded the importance of the role of the community in maintaining the success of this program.

"The MBG program is a social responsibility with all elements of stakeholders. Education for implementers and the community needs to be strengthened so that the chain of supervision runs from below," he concluded.