&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "When free meals turn deadly: Indonesia struggles to contain food poisoning as thousands of students fall ill")
Indonesian authorities have launched an investigation after nearly 700 children in Yogyakarta province were affected by food poisoning this week. The incident unfolded after students consumed meals served under President Prabowo Subianto’s key free school meal programme, an official said.
The school meal programme was introduced in January as a key election campaign promise from Prabowo, but as of October 29, some 15,000 children have fallen ill, according to data from the local non-governmental organisation JPPI, which has urged that the initiative be temporarily halted.
In response, the officials indicated that the food poisoning is often a result of Improper food storage and late delivery of cooked meals, according to a report in the news agency Reuters.
On Oct 29, regional head Endah Subekti Kuntariningsih said on her Instagram account that about 660 students from two separate schools fell ill from food poisoning after consuming free school meals in the Indonesian region of Gunungkidul in Yogyakarta.
Investigations into the Gunungkidul cases are underway
The chief of the national nutrition agency, known locally as BGN, Dadan Hindayana, who runs the school meal programme, told Reuters on Oct 30 that investigations into the Gunungkidul cases are underway and all nearby kitchens have been temporarily closed.
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Across Indonesia’s vast archipelago, around 11,000 kitchens are currently operating under the free meal initiative. The programme aims to reach about 70 million beneficiaries by the end of 2025, a figure lower than the government’s original target of 83 million, due to limited kitchen capacity, Dadan told Reuters earlier this month.
In a separate statement on October 29, the National Food Agency (BGN) stated that it had directed kitchen staff to reduce meal portions to ensure freshness and prevent further cases of food poisoning. On the same day, President Prabowo established a ministerial task force, comprising the health minister and the BGN chief, to enhance oversight of the programme.
The government has allocated 171 trillion rupiah (S$13.3 billion) for the scheme in 2025, although BGN expects to utilise only 99 trillion rupiah by the end of the year.
