Indonesia investigates more free-meal poisoning cases after 700 students fall ill, official says

JAKARTA – The Indonesian authorities are investigating food poisoning cases involving nearly 700 children in Yogyakarta province this week, after students ate meals prepared under President Prabowo Subianto’s key free school meal programme, an official said.

The school meal programme, rolled out in January, was a major election campaign promise from Mr Prabowo, but some 15,000 children have fallen ill as at Oct 29, data from the non-governmental organisation known locally as JPPI showed.

The JPPI has called for the programme to be suspended.

Improper food storage and late delivery of cooked meals are often to blame for the poisoning, the authorities have said.

In the Indonesian region of Gunungkidul in Yogyakarta, some 660 students from two separate schools fell ill from food poisoning after eating the free school meals, regional head Endah Subekti Kuntariningsih said on her Instagram account on Oct 29.

Mr Dadan Hindayana, chief of the national nutrition agency known locally as BGN, which runs the programme, told Reuters on Oct 30 that the authorities are investigating the Gunungkidul cases and have temporarily closed nearby kitchens.

There are 11,000 kitchens across the sprawling archipelago.

Free meals are expected to reach some 70 million recipients by the end of 2025, lower than the government’s initial target of 83 million due to a lack of kitchens, Mr Dadan told Reuters earlier in October.

BGN said separately on Oct 29 that it has instructed kitchen staff to reduce portions of the food to maintain freshness and avoid poisoning.

On Oct 29, Mr Prabowo formed a team of ministers, including the Health Minister and the BGN chief, to better supervise the programme, the nutrition agency said.

The government has earmarked 171 trillion rupiah (S$13.4 billion) for the programme in 2025, but BGN will be able to spend only 99 trillion rupiah by year end. REUTERS