National Nutrition Agency Halts 10 SPPG Operations Due to MBG Incidents

In January 2026, the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) faced a significant issue with the implementation of the ‘MBG’—Free Nutritious Meal Program. Due to several food poisoning and digestive disorder incidents, BGN decided to temporarily halt operations of ten ‘Nutritional Fulfillment Service Units’ (SPPG). BGN Head Dadan Hindayana stated these measures are meant to ensure safety and quality of services provided. He emphasized that SPPGs found violating standards cannot resume operations until significant improvements are made. One of the incidents occurred in Mojokerto, East Java, resulting in the shutdown of an SPPG there. Despite efforts to prevent such incidents, cases of food poisoning continue to occur, though their number has significantly decreased. In 2025, 85 cases were recorded in October, reducing to 10 by January 2026. BGN expressed concern over the disregard of established procedures in SPPGs, particularly regarding the use of non-compliant ingredients in meal preparation. Justifying these actions, BGN stated that in cases of serious violations, operations might be stopped for extended periods, and staff payments suspended. Since the start of the year, the program was allocated 17.39 trillion rupiahs, most of which went towards ingredient procurement and volunteer payments.