Epidemiologist Highlights Poisoning of 72 MBG Students in Duren Sawit, Allegedly Food Outbreak Due to System Failure

JAKARTA, POSKOTA.CO.ID – The case of food poisoning that befell 72 students in the Pondok Kelapa area, Duren Sawit, East Jakarta, under the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program received attention from public health experts.

Epidemiologist and health policy observer from Griffith University and YARSI, Dicky Budiman, assessed that this incident strongly led to an Extraordinary Event (KLB) of food poisoning.

According to Dicky, the pattern of incidents that happened to dozens of students in a short time with the same food source and limited location is a strong indicator of the existence of a single point of failure in the food safety chain. He emphasized that this case could not be considered an ordinary incident.

“With 72 students being poisoned by MBG or spaghetti, this strongly points to an outbreak of food poisoning. Moreover, from an epidemiological perspective, the victims are within a short period of time, the food source is the same, the location is also limited to the school. So this is clearly the point of source and means there is one point of failure in the food safety chain,” said Dicky to Poskota, Sunday, April 5 2026.

Read Also: 72 Students Poisoned by MBG in Duren Sawit, DKI DPRD Urges SPPG Supervision to Be Tightened

He explained that the most rational suspected cause is related to contamination by toxin-producing bacteria, such as staphylococcal food poisoning, which generally comes from the hands of food handlers. Apart from that, Bacillus cereus bacteria also have the potential to be a cause, especially in pasta-based foods such as spaghetti.

“The possibility of contamination from food handlers’ hands and also heat-resistant toxins, even if reheated repeatedly, is still dangerous. Or it could also be due to Bacillus cereus infections which often occur in foods such as pasta, especially if they are cooked and then left at room temperature for too long and then reheated,” explained Dicky.

Dicky also highlighted the possibility of errors in food temperature management as a major factor. He emphasized that food should be kept at a safe temperature, both hot and cold, to prevent the growth of dangerous bacteria.

“It could also be due to temperature management errors, food not being stored above 60 degrees Celsius for hot holding or below 5 degrees Celsius in the cold chain. This is the most frequent factor in mass food outbreaks,” said Dicky.

Read Also: Dismantling Illegal Drug Sales in Tangerang, Police Arrest Two Perpetrators

Furthermore, he considered that this incident could not only be blamed on individuals, but rather showed a systemic failure in food safety management. One thing that was highlighted was the non-optimal implementation of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) in the production process and food distribution.