Indonesia
New National Nutrition Agency (BGN) head Sudaryono, who oversees the free meals program, described the series of food poisoning incidents lately as “deliberate negligence” by kitchens that had failed to follow the agency’s food-safety procedures.
Students rest while receiving treatment for food poisoning at the regional general hospital after eating government-sponsored free school meals in Sidoarjo, East Java province, Indonesia, September 2, 2026. (Reuters/Suryanto)
The latest series of food poisoning incidents has put President Prabowo Subianto’s free nutritious meal program under renewed scrutiny, with cases now being investigated by the National Police and questions mounting over whether recent reforms have addressed the program’s underlying problems. More than 2,000 school students and teachers have fallen ill in separate food poisoning incidents across Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi over the past week after consuming meals provided through the government’s flagship initiative. Dozens have been hospitalized with nausea, vomiting and stomach aches.
The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) on Friday called on the police to conduct a “transparent, independent” investigation into the incidents, saying repeated food poisoning cases threatened children's right to life.
