Home›Global Markets›Emerging Markets›Indonesia free-school meal programme tied to 1,700-plu…

Indonesia free-school meal programme tied to 1,700-plus food poisoning cases

In Central Java, a school principal said 752 students and 25 teachers fell ill after grilled chicken was served, after a food taster flagged some portions as “slimy” before distribution.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Emerging Markets

Another 777 students and teachers contracted food poisoning in Indonesia’s Central Java after consuming government-issued free meals, bringing the total number of people made ill by the programme to more than 1,700 in just a week, a school principal said, according to SCMP Economy citing Reuters.

In a senior high school in Lasem, Central Java, 752 students and 25 teachers were left with diarrhoea and vomiting after the meals were eaten on Wednesday, the outlet reported. The school’s principal, Juhartutik, said the students were served grilled chicken.

Before the food was distributed, a food taster found that some of it was “slimy,” Juhartutik said. She added that the kitchen operator cooked the food at 3am and it was eaten at noon, and most victims were sent home, the report said.

SCMP Economy also noted that separate incidents in three other locations this week affected 950 people and were linked to the same free-meal programme, based on a member of a parliamentary commission overseeing health.

More like this

Sources