More than 800 Indonesian students have been struck by mass food poisoning in two separate incidents linked to the government’s flagship free school meals programme, sparking renewed debate over food safety and quality control.
The largest outbreak occurred in Garut, West Java, where 569 students from five schools fell ill on Wednesday after eating meals of chicken and rice.
Victims suffered nausea, vomiting, and stomach cramps.
According to Garut regional secretary Nurdin Yana, about 30 students required hospitalisation, while hundreds of others were treated at home.
By Friday, 10 students were still in hospital receiving medical care.
A second incident was recorded in Banggai Islands, Central Sulawesi, where 277 students reported similar symptoms after eating school-provided meals.
The National Nutrition Agency, which oversees the initiative, confirmed that food distribution in the region had been temporarily suspended.
Authorities in Garut said they would tighten oversight of kitchens preparing school meals and temporarily simplify menus to reduce risks.
The revised meals will include bread, milk, boiled eggs, and fruit.
Government spokesperson Prasetyo Hadi apologised on Friday, acknowledging the repeated failures.
“These cases are not what we had hoped for, nor were they intentional,” he said, while promising corrective action.
The outbreaks have added to concerns over President Prabowo Subianto’s free school meals initiative, launched in January as one of his signature social welfare policies.
Since the programme’s rollout, the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF) has documented over 4,000 food poisoning cases linked to school meals.
Critics argue that the recurring lapses point to systemic weaknesses in safety standards and monitoring.
Despite the health scares, the government insists the programme will continue. Currently, it reaches 20 million students nationwide.
Plans are underway to expand coverage to 83 million recipients by the end of 2025.
The initiative carries a budget of 171 trillion rupiah ($10.32 billion), with spending expected to double in 2026 as part of the government’s broader push to combat child malnutrition and improve education outcomes.