Students Vomit After Eating Allegedly Stale Menu, MBG in Empat Lawang Asked to Be Temporarily Stopped

PALEMBANG, KOMPAS – The Empat Lawang Police Resort, South Sumatra, has requested that the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program in the district be temporarily halted. This request was made after eight elementary school students were taken to the health center due to complaints of stomach pain and vomiting after consuming the MBG menu, which was suspected to be spoiled and infested with maggots.

The eight students who fell ill are from SD Negeri 7 Tebing Tinggi, Empat Lawang. They complained of stomach aches and vomiting after consuming the MBG menu on Tuesday (18/2/2025).

The eight students were eventually taken to the nearest health center to receive medical treatment. Meanwhile, other students reportedly had not yet had the chance to consume the menu.

"Of the eight students, one was hospitalized until Wednesday (19/2/2025) at 09.00. However, now, he has been taken home by his parents for outpatient care. The other seven students have been discharged since yesterday," revealed Empat Lawang Police Chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Abdul Aziz Septiadi when contacted from Palembang, South Sumatra, on Wednesday.

Aziz explained that after the incident, the police requested that the MBG program in Empat Lawang, which had only been running for two days, be temporarily halted. The suspension will continue until there is certainty from the laboratory test results of the menu samples suspected to be spoiled and infested with maggots.

"It's not that we do not support the MBG program. Precisely because we support it very much, we want this matter to be handled carefully and there to be a thorough evaluation. The goal is that after these findings, the MBG program here can run well and similar issues do not arise again," said Aziz.

Aziz also requested the person in charge of MBG in Empat Lawang to conduct a thorough evaluation of the findings of the case. "The results of the evaluation must also be communicated to the public. The aim is to provide reassurance to the community. Do not let the public become traumatized by the MBG menu," he said.

Regarding the handling of the case, Aziz said that his party had examined a number of witnesses, starting from the catering or menu provider, menu delivery officers, menu recipients at school, and the Empat Lawang Nutrition Fulfillment Service Unit (SPPG).

In addition, the police have sent samples of the menu that is suspected of being stale and having worms to the South Sumatra Police Forensic Laboratory and the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (POM) Laboratory in Palembang. The menu samples sent on Tuesday were reported to have arrived at the two laboratories on Wednesday.

"We are still waiting for the results of the laboratory tests on the menu samples. We hope the results will be out as soon as possible. The results of the laboratory tests will be used to determine the next steps in this case. For now, we cannot assume the cause of the case. Because, we do not have the authority to ensure that the menu is fit for consumption or not. The only party that can explain the cause of the case is the laboratory," said Aziz.

The case of the MBG menu in Empat Lawang which was allegedly stale and full of worms surfaced on a number of social media accounts based in Empat Lawang and South Sumatra. One of them was reported by the Instagram account empatlawangterkini.

In the uploaded video, the recorder shows a number of caterpillars or maggots stuck to the food container and stuck to several parts of the side dishes provided.

The finding is suspected not only in SDN 7 Tebing Tinggi, but also occurred in SDN 8 Tebing Tinggi. That is why most students are not willing to eat it.

"Got a video from one of my followers. There are caterpillars/maggots in the Free Nutritious Meal Packages (MBG) at SDN 8 Tebing Tinggi and SDN 7 Tebing Tinggi (you can see it in the video). Hmm... Cakmano, do you think?" wrote the Instagram account empatlawangterkini, Tuesday.

The MBG menu in Empat Lawang is provided by the Vieki Indira Foundation. The foundation is under the coordination of the Indonesian Catering Service Providers Association (PPJI) of South Sumatra.

It's not that we don't support the MBG program. It's precisely because we strongly support it that we want this matter to be handled carefully and there to be a thorough evaluation.

Head of the South Sumatra PPJI DPD, Evie Hadenli, when confirmed by a number of media crews, said that the MBG menu for the second day in Empat Lawang was crispy catfish fillet, fried vermicelli, fried tofu, and papaya fruit.

Evie said that the fish menu was thinly sliced and fried like crackers so it was impossible for there to be maggots. Moreover, the menu was still fresh or newly provided. "This is the question. Unless the fish was still whole and undercooked, it makes sense (stale and maggots)," Evie wrote to one of the media crew via Whatsapp message.

When Kompas tried to contact Evie, she explained that the case had been resolved and there was no evidence that there was any stale or wormy menu. With that, she ensured that the MBG program in Empat Lawang would resume starting Thursday (20/2/2025). "It's finished, sir, it wasn't proven. Tomorrow the kitchen will be running again," she wrote via Whatsapp message.

When asked where the results of the evidence came from, whether from the South Sumatra Police Forensic Laboratory or the BBPOM Laboratory in Palembang, Evie did not give an answer. In fact, she quickly hung up the phone when tried to be contacted.

Head of BBPOM in Palembang Yani Ardiyanti gave a written statement to the media crew, Wednesday afternoon. She stated that it was true that there was an MBG sample brought by the Empat Lawang Police and had been received on Wednesday at 08.00. The sample is still in the process of being tested.

The test results have not been given and even if they have been tested, the results will be submitted to the sample owner or the Empat Lawang Police. "The results only apply to a number of samples brought and tested to the BBPOM in Palembang," said Yani.