The latest of at least six cases of food poisoning outbreaks to occur since Indonesia’s optimistic free healthy meals program was launched in January, are two cases of food poison occurrences that have affected over 170 individuals.
The national project, which is one of President Prabowo Subianto’s important campaign promises, aims to improve the country’s long-term human resource quality by promoting better nutrition in children’s meals and encouraging better educational outcomes.
At least 165 students were admitted to the hospital for food poisoning after consuming the free meal packages last Monday ( Apr 21 ), according to local media reports. In Cianjur regency of West Java, a recent and widely reported incident occurred.  ,
According to the head of the Disease Prevention and Control Division of West Java’s Health Office, Rochady Hendra, who conducted assessments on two institutions, which had 972 pupils in full, 165 of whom were sick, according to local news outlet Detik.  ,
A 16-year-old scholar from Cianjur’s MAN 1 Muslim senior high school reported hearing a “bad scent” coming from the shredded chicken, one of the dishes served during the wholesome meal program on Monday night.  ,
I started to feel lightheaded and vomited a few hours after eating it, according to 16-year-old M Raihan.
After consuming the food items, 78 individuals from the two institutions, MAN 1 Cianjur position Muslim senior high school and SMP PGRI 1 Cianjur junior high school, reported on Thursday that they had experienced symptoms of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.  ,
According to the Jakarta Post, the company administration was forced to declare a state of emergency in the area due to the high number of people who had been a victim of food poison.
The West Java Health Agency conducted an analysis of some samples of food from the kitchen and spit from the patients to check for potential bacteria contaminants, while the Cianjur Health Agency suspended food production at the house service units that provided completely, nutritious meals.
As he provided the most recent information, National Nutrition Agency head Dadan Hindayana told Kompas on Monday,” The laboratory test results ( for possible microbe contamination ) have not yet been released.  ,
Dadan added that the incident’s precise cause was still a mystery and was still being looked into.
He had previously stated that training and a refresher course would be offered to food handlers to advance their abilities, as reported in the Jakarta Post.  ,
He added that the 165 students who received free nutritious meals may have experienced food poisoning because plastic food trays used to pack them may have been a source of the poisoning.