Indonesian government meals hospitalise 500 students

More than 500 students in Indonesia were hospitalised on Tuesday after eating free meals provided by the government, with food-poisoning cases now suspected to exceed 4,000 nationwide. The outbreak follows the rollout last year of a $4.3 billion programme that delivers breakfasts and lunches to millions of schoolchildren in a bid to tackle malnutrition.

The programme was launched in 2023 to improve child nutrition and attendance, but critics warned corners were cut on safety and oversight. Early reports point to contamination during bulk preparation or storage, possibly linked to poor refrigeration or expired ingredients. Authorities have tested samples from school kitchens and central depots, while local hospitals report symptoms including vomiting, abdominal pain and fever.

Health minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin confirmed 537 admissions on Tuesday alone, mostly in West Java and Central Java, and said teams were inspecting every link in the supply chain. Indonesia’s food and drug agency has suspended 16 vendors so far, but parents and teachers say the damage is already done. “My son can’t keep anything down,” said one mother in Bandung. “He was fine yesterday.”

The government says it will tighten food-handling rules and replace all vendors within two weeks, but it must also restore trust in a programme that reaches 9 million children. The scandal has reignited debate over whether Jakarta’s huge cash injections can outpace the country’s patchy infrastructure.