TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has pledged to take full responsibility for the hundreds of students who suffered food poisoning after consuming free nutritious meals (MBG) in Bogor, West Java. BGN deputy for governance systems, Tigor Pangaribuan, said the government will cover all necessary medical expenses.
"The victims are insured for their medical treatment, and we are working with local health centers to fully cover their healthcare costs," Tigor said in a written statement on Tuesday, May 13.
As part of the agency's response, Tigor said BGN had conducted laboratory tests to identify the cause of the poisoning and issued a formal warning to the head of the local Nutritional Services Unit (SPPG). In addition, all SPPG personnel will undergo retraining.
"This applies especially to food handlers, so we can prevent future cases of food poisoning linked to the free meal program," he added.
Tigor also made it clear that BGN would not hesitate to cut ties with food suppliers if the ingredients were found to be spoiled or otherwise problematic.
"We are tracing the food back to the suppliers," he said. "Once we identify them, we will issue a warning. If they do not improve, we will terminate the contract."
The incident occurred in Bogor, where hundreds of students fell ill after eating the free meals. As of May 11, 2025, at least 210 students ranging from kindergarten to junior high school had shown symptoms of food poisoning. Twenty-two students were hospitalized, dozens received outpatient care, and the rest suffered only mild symptoms.
Anissa Febiola and Hendrik Ya contributed to the writing of this article
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