•Free schools lunches in Indonesia
More than 360 people in Sragen, Central Java, fell ill after eating free school lunches, an official said yesterday.
It is the largest food poisoning incident linked to President Prabowo Subianto’s free meals program, reports Reuters.
The programme, launched in January, has already seen several food poisoning cases across Indonesia, affecting more than 1,000 people.
Sragen government chief Sigit Pamungkas told our correspondent that 365 people had fallen ill and that food samples were being tested in a lab.
He added that the government would cover the cost of medical treatment if required.
Wizdan Ridho Abimanyu, a ninth grader at Gemolong 1 Middle School, said he woke up at night with stomach pain.
“I had a headache and diarrhoea,” he told our correspondent, adding that he realised it was food poisoning after seeing social media posts from classmates with similar symptoms.
The meal suspected to be contaminated included turmeric rice, omelette ribbons, fried tempeh, cucumber and lettuce salad, sliced apple, and a box of milk. The food was cooked in a central kitchen and delivered to several schools.
“We have asked to temporarily stop the food distribution from that kitchen until the lab results are back,” Sigit said.
Dadan Hindayana, head of the government’s National Nutrition Agency, told our correspondent the agency has tightened kitchen and delivery standards after earlier cases.
The free meals programme has expanded quickly, reaching more than 15 million students so far. Authorities plan to serve 83 million by the end of the year, with a budget of 171 trillion rupiah ($10.62 billion).
In May, a similar outbreak in West Java sickened more than 200 students. Tests later found the food contained Salmonella and E. coli, according to media reports.
