Nearly 800 poisoned by free meals in Indonesia’s flagship school programme

According to a British news agency, Charles Honoris, a member of the parliamentary commission on health, said the cases include more than 500 students from East Java province this week.

President Prabowo Subianto launched the programme in 2023 at a cost of billions of dollars. It aims to tackle malnutrition by providing free meals to millions of children. However, it has been dogged by controversy, including mass food poisoning incidents, corruption allegations, changes in leadership and concerns over financial sustainability.

Honoris belongs to the only political party outside the governing coalition. He said 512 students were poisoned in Sidoarjo, East Java, 49 people in Nganjuk, East Java, and 237 people in the Agam area of West Sumatra. Honoris cited figures from the local health department and posted the information on Instagram.

The National Nutrition Agency, which is responsible for the programme costing $12.94 billion (48.5 billion Saudi riyals), did not immediately respond to Honoris’s statement. On Wednesday, the agency suspended the kitchen linked to the Sidoarjo case. According to the non-governmental organisation Network for Education Watch, there have been several mass food poisoning incidents linked to the free meals scheme. It said more than 37,000 people had been reported affected by 8 August.

Officials often link food poisoning incidents to improper food storage and late delivery of cooked meals. A survey by Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting in July found that only one-third of respondents were satisfied with the programme. Food poisoning incidents were described as a major concern.