Indonesia boosts food safety training for free meals program

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia's National Nutrition Agency (BGN) is ramping up training for food handlers to optimize services at kitchens — officially called Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPGs) — across the country, in a bid to ensure the success of the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program. "This activity involves training on proper food handling — even how to serve food so that not a single hair gets into it," said Suardi Samiran, BGN Deputy for Provision and Distribution, on Tuesday. He explained that the training also serves as a preventive measure against potential food poisoning incidents in the program, with the involvement of various agencies, including the National Agency for Food and Drug Control (BPOM). "Long before the recent food poisoning incident, food handler training had already been conducted to anticipate such risks," he said. Samiran emphasized that all individuals working in the kitchens — especially those involved in cooking — received intensive training ...