More than 2,000 students and teachers in Indonesia have fallen ill with food poisoning over the past week, suspected to be caused by meals from the government's free school meal program, which has been subject to considerable criticism.
Foreign news agencies reported that within the past three days, about 2,000 students and teachers nationwide in Indonesia fell ill with food poisoning linked to the government's free school meal program, with the latest case at a high school in Lasem, Central Java, affecting 777 people.
The meals are provided through a multi-billion-dollar budget program, one of President Prabowo Subianto's key policies aimed at improving nutrition for Indonesian schoolchildren.
However, besides being suspected as the cause of multiple food poisoning outbreaks, the program has faced complaints about corruption and criticism over its very high budget.
A total of 752 students and 25 teachers suffered food poisoning after eating meals from the Makan Bergizi Gratis (MBG) program at a high school in Lasem during Wednesday's lunch.
“They suffered diarrhea and had to take turns using the restrooms,” said Juhartutik, the school principal, adding that the school has 40 restrooms, which were insufficient for everyone.
Afterwards, the school sent nearly 1,200 students and 95 staff members home, while many were hospitalized. The government will cover all medical expenses, and the local food supplier has come to the school to “take responsibility” for the incident.
The incident in Lasem followed an outbreak of 730 cases after eating MBG meals at a boarding school in Sidoarjo, East Java, on Tuesday (1 Sep).
Additionally, hundreds more students are suspected to have suffered food poisoning from the free meal program over the past week, including at several schools in Tana Toraja, South Sulawesi.
It remains unclear what exactly caused the students and teachers to fall ill, but improper storage or undercooked food are common causes of food poisoning, a condition where the body rejects contaminated food.
Parents and teachers uniformly told reporters that the chicken they or the children ate was slimy, many dishes appeared undercooked, and the food had a fishy odor.
Local officials are investigating the cause and have taken food samples to test for possible contamination.
Akmad Sholeh Syarifudin, head of the food delivery unit in Lasem, apologized and said he “accepts responsibility for restoring the health of all affected students and teachers,” promising a comprehensive evaluation of their operations following the incident.
Source:bbc