Jakarta – The Indonesian government has reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining the safety and quality of the Free Nutritional Meals (MBG) program to prevent the risk of food poisoning. Several recent food poisoning incidents have prompted the government to strengthen strict oversight at every stage of the food production and distribution chain within the MBG program.
The Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Dadan Hindayana, explained that his agency is working closely with the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) to ensure that food served under the MBG program meets national food safety standards.
“Food safety monitoring in the MBG program has been our top priority. BGN, together with BPOM, has implemented multi-layered supervision from production, processing, and distribution to ensure food quality is maintained and does not pose health risks such as food poisoning,” said Dadan.
Previous cases of food poisoning have received serious attention from the government. For example, BPOM successfully prevented the distribution of spoiled vegetables that nearly entered the MBG distribution channel thanks to routine inspections and rigorous testing. The Head of the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM), Taruna Ikrar, emphasized that comprehensive supervision is being carried out to prevent similar incidents from recurring.
“We routinely sample and test food products included in the MBG program. We strengthen this monitoring system, especially during Extraordinary Events (KLB) related to food poisoning,” Taruna explained.
Furthermore, the government is also strengthening governance through training for supply chain actors, updating standard operating procedures (SOPs), and cross-sector collaboration involving the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture, and local governments throughout Indonesia. These efforts aim to ensure that every point in the MBG food production chain is strictly monitored and meets established food safety standards.
To support the sustainability and quality of the MBG, the government is also strengthening the independence of domestic milk production, a key component of the program. Recently, 1,573 pregnant dairy cows arrived from Australia within two days at the end of June 2025. This step was taken to ensure a sustainable supply of fresh milk needed for the MBG.
The Director General of Animal Husbandry and Animal Health at the Ministry of Agriculture, Agung Suganda, explained that the import of dairy cattle is part of a strategy to increase the domestic dairy cattle population.
“With the addition of dairy cattle from Australia, we hope that local milk productivity will increase, thereby supporting food security and the success of the MBG program,” said Agung.
In addition to dairy cattle from Australia, the government is also open to importing live cattle from Brazil. The Head of the Indonesian Quarantine Agency (Barantin), Sahat M. Panggabean, stated that Brazil is a potential partner to support the fulfillment of live cattle needs for the sustainability of the MBG program.
“Brazil has a large and high-quality cattle population, so we see an opportunity for collaboration in bringing live cattle to Indonesia to meet the community’s food and nutritional needs through the MBG,” said Sahat.
Through intensive collaboration between relevant institutions and strengthening the monitoring system, the government is committed to making the MBG a flagship program that not only improves the nutritional quality of the community, especially school children, but is also safe and free from the risk of poisoning.