More than 1,700 Indonesian students and teachers sickened this week due to free meals programme
Authorities blamed improper food storage and late meal delivery as outbreaks spread, with one watchdog reporting 37,600 affected since August 8.
- On Thursday, 777 students and teachers in Lasem, Central Java, contracted food poisoning after consuming government-issued free meals, bringing total infections to more than 1,700 in just one week.
- Authorities blamed improper food storage and late delivery for the illnesses, which follow separate incidents in Sidoarjo, Nganjuk, and Agam, according to lawmaker Charles Honoris, who called the situation "a failure of the system."
- Before distribution in Lasem, a taster found some grilled chicken meals "slimy," principal Juhartutik said; while most victims recovered at home, 15 students and teachers required hospitalization.
- The National Nutrition Agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment, as public criticism mounts and surveys show only one-third of respondents remain satisfied with the programme.
- As of September 1, 50,000 individuals had been affected by food poisoning linked to the scheme, Charles said, underscoring systemic safety challenges threatening President Prabowo Subianto's multibillion-dollar initiative to eradicate under-nutrition.
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More than 500 children are among the victims.
More than 1,700 Indonesian students and teachers sickened this week due to free meals programme
Another 777 students and teachers contracted food poisoning in Indonesia's Central Java after consuming government-issued free meals, a school principal said on Thursday, bringing the total number of people made ill by the scheme to more than 1,700 in just a week.
More than 500 students fell ill this week in East Java – Over 37,600 cases of food poisoning since the program began, according to an NGO The post Indonesia: Almost 800 people poisoned by free government meals appeared first on Npress.gr.
Among them are over 500 students - 37,600 people have been reported to have been poisoned since August 8.
Nearly 800 people, including more than 500 children, have fallen ill in Indonesia in food poisoning cases linked to the
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