Jakarta – The government continues to strengthen oversight and evaluation of the Free Nutritious Meal Program (MBG) as part of its commitment to maintaining nutritional quality, food safety, and the effectiveness of this national program. This step is taken to ensure that MBG truly delivers optimal benefits to millions of child beneficiaries across Indonesia.
Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Dadan Hindayana, emphasized that the government does not turn a blind eye to various issues that have arisen during the implementation of MBG, including food safety incidents in several regions. Therefore, the government will carry out comprehensive improvements through accreditation and certification programs set to begin in 2026. This policy is expected to raise operational standards across all Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG).
“The government will make improvements and strive to minimize cases of food poisoning or food safety incidents that occur during the implementation of the MBG program. This is believed to eliminate or at least minimize major incidents,” Dadan said.
According to Dadan, accreditation and certification will serve as important instruments to ensure that every MBG kitchen meets strict standards of hygiene, sanitation, and food management. Through this system, the government can implement layered supervision while also providing technical assistance to SPPG operators to ensure that the food served remains safe and nutritious.
Strengthening oversight is not only carried out at the central level but also involves local governments. Vice Governor of Gorontalo, Idah Syahidah Rusli Habibie, stressed the importance of data-based evaluation in implementing MBG, one of which is through recording and weighing leftover food. She noted that this simple step holds strategic value in assessing the effectiveness of the menus served.
“Every SPPG must be equipped with scales that are used optimally as evaluation instruments. After meals are consumed and food containers are returned from schools to SPPG, leftover food—whether rice, side dishes, or vegetables—must be weighed,” Idah said.
She explained that the weighing results are then compared with data from previous days. If the amount of leftover food increases, it serves as an indicator that the menu is less appealing to children. “The results of weighing leftover food are an important signal. If there is more leftover food today, it means the menu is less favored,” she explained.
The Vice Governor of Gorontalo urged that the weighing and recording process be conducted routinely and systematically. The collected data must be used as the basis for evaluating daily menus so that less popular dishes are not served again and can be promptly replaced with menus that better suit children’s preferences, without reducing their nutritional value.
This evaluative approach is considered to align with the spirit of continuous improvement promoted by the central government. With a combination of accreditation, certification, and data-based menu evaluation in the field, MBG is expected to become increasingly adaptive to children’s needs and regional conditions.
The government emphasized that strengthening oversight of MBG is not merely aimed at preventing incidents, but also at ensuring that every rupiah of state budget spending truly contributes to improving the nutritional quality and health of the younger generation. With tighter supervision and stronger collaboration between central and local governments, MBG is projected to become a solid foundation for the development of healthy, intelligent, and competitive Indonesian human resources.