JAKARTA (Reuters) -An Indonesian government agency running President Prabowo Subianto's massive free meals programme said on Friday its lack of oversight led to a recent outbreak of food poisoning among thousands of school children.
Concerns have mounted over the standards and supervision of the multi-billion-dollar initiative. Nearly 6,000 people have fallen ill after eating the free lunches since the programme's January roll-out, government data showed, including more than 1,000 children in the country's West Java province this week.
The programme has been rapidly expanded to reach more than 20 million recipients, with an ambitious goal of feeding 83 million by the end of the year. The agency said on Friday it estimated it could only spend 99 trillion rupiah ($5.92 billion) this year out of the 171 trillion rupiah initially allocated for the scheme.
Nanik Deyang, the National Nutrition Agency's deputy head, apologised for the recent cases, breaking down in tears.
"Our biggest mistake is ... our lack of oversight," she said, adding that the agency takes full responsibility. "The recent cases ... were because our partners and our internal teams did not follow the right standard operating procedures."
Inconsistent cooking times contributed to the poisoning, she said, adding that the agency would step up supervision.
Processed foods have been banned from the lunches, and kitchens lacking proper health certification will be shut down by next month, she said.
The West Java cases were linked to kitchens using spoiled food, and Deyang noted a shortage of nutritionists across the archipelago.
Investigations into the poisoning cases have started, involving food regulators and the police, Nanik added.
Health organisations have previously called for the suspension of the programme. West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi urged an evaluation, warning that the cases could overwhelm small local hospitals.
When asked about the calls to suspend the programme entirely, Nanik said about 40 kitchens lacking proper standards certificates had been closed.
($1 = 16,725.0000 rupiah)
(Reporting by Ananda Teresia; Writing by Stanley Widianto; Editing by Louise Heavens)
