BGN trains 7,000 South Sulawesi food handlers to boost MBG safety

  The Indonesian National Nutrition Agency (BGN) organized technical training on food safety and quality for around 7,000 food handlers involved in the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program in South Sulawesi Province.

"Today, we are simultaneously training some seven thousand people from Makassar, Bulukumba, and Wajo. The participants include volunteers recruited as cooks," BGN's Deputy for Provision and Distribution Suardi Samiran remarked in Makassar City on Saturday.

He added that the training, which also targeted other workers serving in MBG kitchens, officially called nutrition fulfillment service units (SPPGs), including kitchen leaders and accountants, is designed to prevent erroneous practices that could lead to food degradation and poisoning.

"It is mandatory for SPPGs to comply with hygiene and safety standards to avoid food poisoning," Samiran affirmed.

Elaborating further, the BGN official underlined that MBG kitchens should take good care of all food ingredients procured, especially vegetables, and ensure that they are immediately processed to prevent degradation.

"If stored for too long, vegetables will release nitrite," he said, stressing the importance of swift and proper handling.

Samiran went on to say that since being launched on January 6, the MBG program has covered around 42 million school children, breastfeeding mothers, pregnant women, and toddlers across the country, with support from over 14 thousand active SPPGs.

He highlighted that in South Sulawesi, the government has set up a total of 625 MBG kitchens, with 536 already operational and serving more than 1.39 million residents.

"SPPGs scattered across Indonesia play a vital role in nurturing a generation of healthy and quality talents through nutritious and hygienic meals," he stated, underlining the MBG program's purpose of curbing childhood stunting.

Furthermore, he noted that the government has made it obligatory for all MBG kitchens to obtain hygiene and sanitation certificates, with 1,601 SPPGs already complying with this requirement nationwide.

The training and certification requirements are part of the government's measures to align with President Prabowo Subianto's instruction for stricter safety and quality standards for the MBG program following recent cases of food poisoning reported in several regions.

Earlier, the BGN also held food handler training in other locations, including West Java and Jakarta.