Jakarta. The House of Representatives (DPR) will evaluate the Free Nutritious Meal Program following a series of suspected food poisoning cases. Chairwoman of DPR Commission X, Hetifah Sjaifudian, said the evaluation is not intended to halt the program. Instead, it is necessary to ensure safer and more targeted implementation in the future.

"This doesn’t mean the free nutritious meal program will be stopped. I believe evaluation is more important," Hetifah said, as quoted by Antara on Monday.

She stressed that the evaluation must be carried out thoroughly, including the possibility of temporarily suspending the operations of the Nutritional Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG).

According to her, this step is crucial to prevent a recurrence of mass food poisoning incidents among students due to unhealthy meals. She also praised President Prabowo Subianto’s decision to hold a special meeting with ministers to evaluate the program as the right move.

Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan stressed that the government would also evaluate the performance of cooks in all SPPG facilities. The evaluation will include work discipline, ingredient quality, and cooking skills.

"One of the main aspects of evaluation concerns discipline, quality, and the capabilities of cooks -- not only at the site where the poisoning occurred but across all SPPG units," Zulkifli said.

The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has officially launched a hotline for public complaints regarding the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program. The channel was established to ensure the program is implemented transparently, with quality, and in a targeted manner.