The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has found that around 4,700 portions of the government’s Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program caused health issues among schoolchildren following a mapping exercise across three regions of Indonesia.

“As of today, BGN has provided one billion meal portions. But 4,700 of them caused health problems for children, and we deeply regret this. We continue to tighten the mechanism,” BGN Head Dadan Hindayana said at a press conference in Jakarta, as quoted by state news agency Antara, on Monday, September 22, 2025.

Dadan stressed that local Nutrition Service Units or kitchens (SPPG) should start food production in smaller quantities to minimize the risk of food poisoning or digestive issues.

“We advise SPPG to begin with smaller coverage. For example, if they have 3,500 children across 20 schools, they should serve only two schools in the first couple of days, and gradually expand once capacity is proven,” he cited.

Most problems, he added, were linked to newly established SPPG units. “Every SPPG needs to implement early mitigation. We are also conducting separate investigations into incidents of digestive problems among students,” Dadan said.

Regional breakdown of health incidents as recorded by BGN:

1. Sumatra – 7 cases, affecting 1,281 children;

2. Java – 27 cases, affecting 2,606 children;

3. Other regions (Kalimantan, Bali, Sulawesi, NTB, NTT, Papua) – 11 cases, affecting 824 children.

Dadan reminded SPPG units to carefully manage ingredients, especially when switching suppliers. The warning follows the latest case in Banggai Islands, Central Sulawesi, where 329 children fell ill after consuming improperly processed cakalang (skipjack tuna).

“With the Banggai case, we remind our partners that supplier changes must be gradual. In particular, cakalang requires careful cleaning; if not handled properly, it is highly prone to causing allergic reactions and in some cases can even be deadly,” Dadan cautioned.