Suspected MBG Food Poisoning Leaves Parents in Purworejo Traumatized, Choosing to Pack Meals from Home

PURWOREJO, KOMPAS.com – Several parents in Guntur Village, Bener District, Purworejo Regency, Central Java, reported trauma after their children experienced diarrhea and stomach pain following consumption of food from the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program on Thursday (9/17/2026).

This trauma has led some parents to plan on no longer giving their children MBG meals for the time being.

They are opting to bring meals from home out of concern that similar incidents might occur again.

The head of RW 5, Kalipancer Hamlet, Guntur Village, Tri Indrayatno, said he received many reports from residents after their children showed health complaints.

"Parents are mostly traumatized and afraid. Some said they won’t give the meals tomorrow and will bring food from home instead," Tri said when confirmed on Sunday (9/20/2026).

According to Tri, MBG meals in the area are not only provided to Islamic elementary school students but also distributed for posyandu activities, pregnant women, and toddlers.

In RW 5, dozens of students received the meals. The exact number of elderly and pregnant women receiving the food is not yet known.

Complaints Arise After Consuming the Food

Residents' complaints started after consuming the meals. Posyandu officers then contacted the kitchen to report these issues.

The kitchen subsequently provided oral rehydration salts (oralit) to those experiencing symptoms.

Some residents reportedly improved after taking oralit, but others still suffered from dizziness and diarrhea until Friday night.

"Some got better after oralit, but others still felt dizzy," he added.

Residents’ Complaints: Diarrhea Accompanied by Stomach Pain

Tri explained that the symptoms reported by residents included diarrhea accompanied by stomach pain. However, as far as the information he received, no one in his area required hospitalization.

Similar complaints were also reported in Nglaris Village.

One child even suffered repeated diarrhea from around midnight until morning.

Meanwhile, Tri said treatment given to residents so far consists of medication.

Tri hopes the MBG management will exercise greater caution in the preparation and distribution processes to prevent such incidents from happening again.

He also plans to gather parents to discuss the future of MBG reception in his area.

"We must be very careful. We can’t let this happen again," Tri said.

Meanwhile, Purworejo SPPI Coordinator Wahyu Kurniawan said they are currently handling the children suspected to have been poisoned.

"First, we focus on handling the affected victims," he said.

However, they are not yet able to confirm the total number of victims affected by the suspected poisoning as Wahyu is still conducting data collection.

"We are still gathering the data," he stated.