Indonesian govt says food safety improved in free meal program

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia’s government said improvements in hygiene certification for nutrition service units had strengthened the quality of its Free Nutritious Meals program, reducing food safety incidents compared with peaks recorded in August and September 2025.

“We should be grateful that the increase in hygiene and sanitation certificates has improved food quality, so unwanted food safety incidents have declined significantly,” Government Communications Agency Head Muhammad Qodari said in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Qodari said the government continued improving the Free Nutritious Meals program through efforts by the National Nutrition Agency and support from ministries and regional administrations.

“At the central level, the government has formed a task force under the Coordinating Ministry for Food Affairs to coordinate agencies and ministries involved in the program,” he said.

Qodari said 1,738 Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units, or SPPG, had been temporarily suspended as of May 12, 2026, to improve governance of the meals program.

“Based on May 12 data, 1,738 SPPG units were suspended for failing to meet standards. The National Nutrition Agency also operates the SAGI 127 hotline for public complaints,” he said.

He said the National Nutrition Agency continued strengthening oversight and accountability through ongoing inspections of meal distribution management.

A total of 3,615 complaints were submitted to the SAGI 127 hotline in 2026. The government said it would regularly improve governance transparency for the state-funded program.

Earlier, Indonesia’s Health Ministry accelerated issuance of hygiene and sanitation certificates for more than 26,000 program kitchens nationwide to improve food safety standards.

“The increase has been significant. At the end of March, applications were still below 10,000, but now more than 26,000 SPPG kitchens have been registered,” Environmental Health Director Then Suyanti said.

She said that as of April 24, 2026, authorities had issued 14,646 hygiene and sanitation certificates, representing 81 percent of total applications received.

Of the total recorded kitchens, 17,807 had submitted certificate applications, while around 8,600 others had yet to apply for hygiene certification.