Jakarta. Sudaryono, the newly appointed head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), has permanently shut down 833 kitchens supplying the government's Free Nutritious Meals program after they failed to meet operational and hygiene standards.

The closures were ordered less than a week after Sudaryono took office and followed inspections that found operators had failed to address deficiencies despite being given time to make improvements.

Of the kitchens permanently closed, 98 were in Sumatra, 311 in Java and Madura, and 424 across Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara and Papua, Sudaryono told reporters on Monday.

"These kitchens have been permanently closed. Unlike before, some kitchens were only suspended while continuing to receive funding. Now, those that are closed will no longer be paid," he said.

Sudaryono said most of the kitchens were shut because they failed to comply with hygiene and sanitation standards, posing potential health risks to students receiving meals under the nationwide program.

Other facilities failed to meet requirements for wastewater treatment systems and other technical standards established by the agency.

"We gave them time to make improvements, but no action was taken, so we closed them permanently," he said.

He said strict enforcement was necessary because poor hygiene in food preparation could endanger lives.

The closures come after a series of mass food poisoning incidents involving thousands of schoolchildren in several provinces, although no deaths have been reported from meals provided under the government program.

Sudaryono said BGN was arranging for compliant kitchens to take over food distribution so that schools affected by the closures would continue receiving meals.

"Closing a kitchen does not mean its affiliated schools will stop receiving meals. We are working to ensure supplies are taken over by other qualified kitchens, and that is the mechanism currently in place," he said.

Sudaryono said earlier that the agency has dismissed 261 contract employees for various violations, including embezzlement, chronic absenteeism and involvement in online gambling.

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