Training of Trainers in Nutrition Standards and Food Safety: Safeguarding MBG Quality

Jakarta, 12–14 August 2025 – National training of trainers (ToT) was held to accelerate action on critical nutrition issues and strengthen implementation of the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme as a National Strategic Project (PSN) under the 2025–2029 National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN). The training focused on Nutrition Standards and Ready-to-Eat Food Safety at Satuan Pelayanan Pemenuhan Gizi (SPPG), and MBG Programme Implementation in Education Units.

With the theme “Meeting Balanced Nutrition Needs, Maintaining Food Safety, Building a Healthy Generation”, the ToT was delivered in a hybrid format at Artotel Gelora Senayan, Jakarta, marking the government’s commitment to addressing the continued significant prevalence of stunting, wasting and anaemia in Indonesia. The MBG programme, targeting around 82.9 million people in 2025, relies heavily on the planned establishment of 30,000 SPPG units.

Intensive Preparation for National Facilitators

A total of 46 participants from key ministries and agencies, including Badan Gizi Nasional (BGN), Kemenag, Kemendikdasmen, Kemenkes, BPOM and Bappenas, took part in three days of in-depth training. Its main objective was to strengthen national facilitators’ capacity to ensure a shared understanding and effective programme implementation down to the regional level.

The event was opened by Suardi Samiran, BGN Deputy for Provision and Distribution, following an activity report by Enny Indarti, BGN Director of Provision and Distribution. A participant-centred adult learning approach was used throughout, combining expert presentations, panel discussions, case studies, simulations and facilitation practice to build technical competence and knowledge-transfer skills.

Training Focused on Two Key Modules

The training focused on two main modules as national references:

1. Nutrition Standards and Food Safety at SPPG: Covers 12 essential topics, from nutrition standards for MBG menus, personal hygiene and workplace sanitation to food safety incident mitigation and waste management.
2. MBG Programme Implementation in Education Units: Covers five strategic topics for school programme managers, including teachers and school health teams (UKS): programme policy, technical preparation, operational implementation, and ongoing monitoring and evaluation.

Cascading Dissemination and Cross-Sector Collaboration

Participants assessed as competent were tasked with implementing a tiered training mechanism (cascading). National facilitators will train provincial facilitators, who will then train district and city teams, ultimately reaching food handlers at SPPG and programme implementers across educational institutions.

This ToT reflects strong coordination and collaboration through Center of Excellence Pemenuhan Gizi Nasional (CoE-PGN), involving BGN, IPB University, UNICEF and Bappenas, with strategic support from Kemenkes, BPOM, Kemendikdasmen, KLH and PERSAGI.

Through this activity, BGN and its partners committed to systematic transfer of knowledge and skills. The aim is to ensure that every meal served through MBG is safe, fit for consumption and effective in supporting children’s optimal growth and development. This is a practical step towards a healthy, intelligent and productive generation for Golden Indonesia 2045.