"Layered supervision involving the community, students' parents, schools, and students as the program's beneficiaries is necessary," stated KPAI Deputy Chair Jasra Putra in Jakarta on Friday.
In this regard, he expressed the commission's readiness to collaborate with the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) to oversee the program's implementation.
According to Putra, layered supervision is crucial to prevent issues like food poisoning, late food delivery, delayed consumption, or improperly cooked meals.
The KPAI expressed regret regarding the reported cases of food poisoning during the program's implementation. Most recently, 342 junior high school students in Bandung, West Java, experienced food poisoning after consuming meals provided under the MBG program.
"This must be a concern for everyone because these free meals are intended for daily consumption by all children," he stressed.
Since the MBG program's rollout on January 6, 2025, the KPAI has conducted site visits to inspect its implementation in several regions, including Jakarta, Central Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan.
In the first three months of the program, the KPAI recorded at least 320 cases of food poisoning among students after consuming MBG meals in various areas.
This figure represents 0.0156 percent of the total 2.05 million MBG beneficiaries recorded as of March 2025.
The free meals program is a key initiative of President Prabowo and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka for their 2024–2029 term.
Through this program, the government aims to improve the nutritional intake of children under five, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and schoolchildren up to the high school level.
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Translator: Anita Permata, Raka Adji
Editor: Aditya Eko Sigit Wicaksono
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