February 21, 2025
JAKARTA – Dozens of students in South Sumatra and East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) fell ill on Tuesday after consuming meals provided by the government’s free meals program, marking the third and fourth food poisoning incidents in less than two months since the program’s launch.
Eight students from SD 7 Tebing Tinggi State Elementary School in Empat Lawang Regency, South Sumatra, were taken to a healthcare facility after they showed symptoms of food poisoning after consuming their packaged meal.
The third and fourth graders reportedly vomited and complained of epigastric pain, stomach discomfort, dizziness and shortness of breath.
“The students were transported to the Tebing Tinggi Community Health Center emergency unit. As of 9 a.m. today, seven students have been discharged, while one remains under observation,” said Trisnawarman, head of the South Sumatra Health Agency, in a statement on Wednesday, as reported by Tempo.
Previously, several videos circulated on social media showing packaged meals served at the school on Tuesday, consisting of fried basa fish fillet, stir-fried vermicelli noodles, fried tofu and papaya, that were infested with maggots. A significant number of students also reportedly refused to eat the meals due to an unpleasant taste.
Empat Lawang Police have decided to halt the free meals program in the regency until the investigation into the food poisoning incident is completed.
“It’s not that we oppose the free meals program. We fully support it. We just want to carefully investigate this incident so we can fully assess the situation and prevent similar occurrences in the future,” said Empat Lawang Police Chief Sr. Adj. Comr. Abdul Aziz Septiadi on Wednesday, as reported by Kompas.
Aziz stated that the police have already questioned several witnesses in connection with the incident, including the caterer, food delivery personnel, school officials and kitchen staff.
He added that the police had sent samples of the meals to both the South Sumatra Police forensic laboratory and the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) laboratory in Palembang.
Also on Tuesday, 29 students at SD Katolik Andaluri Catholic Elementary School in Sumba Timur Regency, NTT, experienced food poisoning after eating a government-provided lunch.
The students reported symptoms of nausea, stomach pain, dizziness and vomiting after consuming a meal of fried noodles, fried tempeh and tofu, egg and bananas. They mentioned that the food tasted off-putting and seemed to have gone bad.
The students have received medical treatment and have since recovered.
The Sumba Police, in collaboration with local BPOM personnel, are investigating the incident and have collected food samples for analysis.
At least two food poisoning incidents linked to the free meals program also occurred last month.
In Sukoharjo, Central Java, 40 students from SD Dukuh 03 State Elementary School fell ill after consuming undercooked chicken in lunches provided by a caterer at a local army base.
Meanwhile, dozens of students and several teachers at a state elementary school in Nunukan, North Kalimantan, reported suffering from diarrhea after consuming the prepared meals.
Following two food poisoning incidents last month, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) head Hasan Nasbi stated that these incidents will be a key point in the evaluation by the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) to tighten standard procedures at every stage of the free meals program to ensure quality and hygiene. (nal)