He made this statement when conducting an inspection at the handling post for a suspected food poisoning case linked to the MBG Program in Cipongkor, West Java.
In the agency’s statement issued here on Wednesday, Hindayana said preliminary findings indicated a technical error by the SPPG team, who began cooking too early, resulting in food being stored for an extended period before distribution.
“Information suggests that the SPPG started cooking too early, so the food was left sitting too long,” he explained.
On Tuesday morning (September 23), he said his side had coordinated with all newly operational SPPGs and instructed them to begin cooking after 1:30 a.m., ensuring the time between cooking and distribution does not exceed four hours.
Hindayana emphasized that proper cooking and distribution timing is key to maintaining food quality. While older SPPG teams have established their workflow, newer units tend to cook too early out of concern for timely delivery.
He advised newer SPPGs to gradually increase operations, starting with two schools first, then four schools, to ten schools, expanding as they become more efficient.
Hindayana also addressed a similar incident in Banggai, Central Sulawesi, where a sudden change in suppliers impacted food quality.
Currently, the MBG program in Cipongkor has been suspended pending further evaluation. He also called for psychological support for affected children, stressing the importance of rebuilding their trust in the program’s safety.
“Children experiencing digestive issues may be traumatized. We must help them feel safe consuming MBG again,” he added.
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Translator: Lintang, Kenzu
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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