Indonesia’s free meals programme has come under fresh scrutiny following reports that Chinese-made food trays used in the scheme may have carried falsified safety and halal labels.
The tray controversy is the latest in a series of challenges to confront President Prabowo Subianto’s ambitious flagship policy, which aims to provide nutritious meals to more than 82 million Indonesian children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers.
Observers say the programme’s rapid scale-up has revealed significant regulatory and quality-control gaps – from procurement transparency and product certification to food safety and kitchen oversight – raising alarm among industry groups, consumer advocates and religious authorities.
Jakarta relaxed import rules for food trays in August to meet surging demand for the roll-out. Trade Minister Budi Santoso explained that domestic output had been far too small to supply the scheme.
“After deregulation, importers no longer need a recommendation [from the ministry of trade]. This means food tray imports are free. Why? Because we need a lot of food trays. Domestic production is around 15 million, while our demand is 80 million. So to fill the gap, we have to import,” he told reporters on August 29.
But the procurement process quickly drew criticism.
