Jakarta (The Indonesian News) – Indonesia’s National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has reaffirmed its commitment to preventing further food safety incidents under the government’s Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program, setting the goal of eliminating such incidents as a top priority.
The agency says it will strengthen oversight and introduce measures designed to prevent similar incidents from recurring.
“Our top priority is to ensure that not a single child experiences a food safety incident,” BGN chief Sudaryono said Thursday, October 29, 2026.
Sudaryono acknowledged that food safety incidents pose a significant challenge but said they could be addressed. Strengthening oversight of food quality and the operations of Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG), the kitchens serving the program, has therefore become a major priority under his leadership.
One key measure is stricter enforcement of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for preparing and serving MBG meals, particularly those governing food storage.
Sudaryono said the quality of ingredients remained essential to food safety, but storage duration and temperature also played a critical role in preventing incidents.
According to him, risks can increase when meals are consumed more than four hours after preparation or kept at room temperature for more than two hours.
“If food is left at temperatures between 5 and 60 degrees Celsius for an extended period, the meals we eat will inevitably spoil and deteriorate. The key, therefore, is to manage food storage time and temperature. These are the procedures we are tightening,” he said.
BGN is also promoting the use of consumption-time labels and seals on meal trays. The measures are intended to ensure that meals are consumed within a safe time frame and remain secure during distribution.
In addition to monitoring meal quality, the agency will expand operational oversight by installing closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems at SPPG kitchens. The goal is to ensure that food preparation and serving comply with established standards.
CCTV cameras have so far been installed at 70 SPPG facilities. BGN plans to expand coverage to 300 facilities and beyond, with a year-end target of connecting CCTV systems at 5,000 to 10,000 facilities to its central office.
Sudaryono said the system would help identify hygiene violations, including placing ingredients directly on the floor or handling food without gloves.
“Each kitchen already has its own local CCTV system. What we want to do is ensure that the footage can also be accessed by the Kitchen Committee and connected to the central system,” he said.
BGN hopes these measures will continue to reduce food safety incidents associated with the MBG program. Sudaryono said progress could be measured using the Incidents per Million Servings (IPMS) ratio.
Indonesia’s IPMS ratio stood at 5.3 from January through December 2025, he said. The figure fell to 3.9 from January through July 2026, before declining further to 3.6 from August through October 2026.
Despite the downward trend, Sudaryono said Indonesia’s rate remained higher than those reported for the United States, at 0.1; Japan, at 0.8; and the European Union, at 1.3.
He pledged to continue improving meal quality, kitchen operations and oversight until the ratio reaches zero.
“Please pray for us, support us, give us feedback, criticism, suggestions—anything that can help us reach the level of the United States, where the rate is zero. We want zero incidents. Not a single person should experience a food safety incident,” he said.
Source: Press Release of the Government Communications Agency of the Republic of Indonesia (Bakom RI)
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