September 26, 2025
JAKARTA – Nearly 1,000 students in West Bandung regency, West Java, suffered food poisoning after consuming packaged meals provided under the government’s free nutritious meal program, prompting local authorities to declare a health emergency.
The first incident was reported on Monday in Cipongkor subdistrict, where 411 students from kindergarten to high school experienced nausea, vomiting and dizziness after consuming meals consisting of rice, soy sauce chicken, sliced melon and tofu.
Just two days later, while local authorities were still managing the initial outbreak, a larger food poisoning incident struck students in both Cipongkor and Cihampelas subdistricts. Approximately 550 students in these areas fell ill after eating meals of fried chicken, rice, stir-fried tofu and strawberries.
Officials reported that some victims with severe symptoms experienced seizures, dehydration and loss of consciousness.
Healthcare facilities in the regency are struggling to accommodate the influx of patients. After local regional hospitals reached full capacity, many students had to be treated at the Cipongkor sports hall using fold-out beds. Some were even forced to sit on the floor due to a shortage of available beds.
Authorities added that health workers were struggling with a lack of oxygen tanks for the affected students.
West Bandung regency has declared a state of emergency in response to the food poisoning outbreaks. Authorities have also suspended the operations of two free meal kitchens responsible for preparing the possibly contaminated food, pending a full investigation into the cause of the incidents.
Unsafe preparation
West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi stated that although the investigation into the recent food poisoning cases was still ongoing, preliminary findings identified three key issues contributing to the incidents: inadequate staffing, unsafe food preparation practices and long delivery times between the kitchens and schools.
“The kitchens are not adequately staffed to serve meals to thousands of students. As a result, they begin preparing food as early as midnight to be served at noon the following day. This is far too long and seriously jeopardizes food safety,” Dedi said on Thursday as quoted by Kompas.id.
He further explained that long distances between food preparation facilities and schools were exacerbating the problem, with meals spending extended periods on the road before being served.
Similarly, the head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Dadan Hindayana, attributed the food poisoning incident in West Bandung to poor food preparation practices, such as cooking meals too early and scaling up operations too quickly.
“Newer facilities often rush production out of concern they won’t meet delivery deadlines. In this case, the kitchen began cooking too early, causing the food to sit too long before being served,” Dadan said on Tuesday, as quoted by Antaranews.
He said all newly operational kitchens had now been instructed to start cooking no earlier than 1:30 a.m., ensuring meals are served within four hours of preparation.
Dadan also urged new kitchens to scale operations gradually. For example, a kitchen serving 3,500 students across 20 schools should begin by serving just two schools and gradually increase the number over time.
Call for suspension
President Prabowo Subianto launched his flagship free meal program in January, aiming to reduce stunting and malnutrition problems across Indonesia. Since its inception, the program has reached over 25 million recipients with a budget of Rp 71 trillion (US$4.24 billion) allocated for this year. The program is set to expand significantly next year, with funding projected to reach Rp 335 trillion.
However, the initiative has been plagued by serious food safety concerns since its launch. According to data from the Health Ministry as of Sept. 16, there were 60 reported cases of food poisoning incidents across the country affecting 5,207 children.
In the same week as the food poisoning incidents in West Bandung regency, similar cases were also reported in Ketapang regency in West Kalimantan, Mamuju in West Sulawesi, Parigi Moutong regency in Central Sulawesi and West Lombok regency in West Nusa Tenggara, affecting dozens of students.
Health and education advocacy groups have called on the government to immediately suspend the free meal program and conduct a thorough evaluation to prevent further food poisoning cases linked to the initiative.
The Network for Education Watch Indonesia (JPPI) described the situation as a “national humanitarian emergency” and clear evidence of “systemic failure.” JPPI coordinator Ubaid Matraji cautioned that, without an immediate pause and review, the program risked endangering the lives of children.
“Schoolchildren cannot be guinea pigs for a rushed policy. If the President is serious about protecting Indonesia’s so-called ‘golden generation,’ he must halt the program and conduct a full evaluation. Otherwise, the state is failing to protect its own citizens,” Ubaid said on Saturday.
Amid growing calls to suspend the national free meal program, the BGN, which spearheads the initiative, has affirmed its commitment to continuing expansion in line with President Prabowo’s directive.
The BGN‘s Dadan told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that the agency would proceed with increasing the number of kitchens unless explicitly instructed otherwise.
“Unless told otherwise, we will continue accelerating the addition of more kitchens nationwide,” Dadan said, adding that the government planned to increase the number of operational kitchens to 13,269, up from 8,902 as of Sept. 22.(nal)