JAKARTA – The ministry of industry (Kemenperin) is preparing a product of health supplement based on palm oil to support the program of free nutritious meals (MBG) initiated by the government under President Prabowo Subianto.
The supplement will be developed from natural nutritional content of palm oil, such as betacarotene (Pro Vitamin A) and Tocopherol (Vitamin E), which are not yet optimally utilized by the public.
Kemenperin’s Agroindustry Director General Putu Juli Ardika said that the initiative is part of the downstreaming program of palm oil toward reaching national nutritional resilience.
“We want to show that palm oil is not only the source of foods and energy, but it can also become the health foundation for our future generations,” Putu said in a press statement on Sunday (11/05/2025) in Jakarta.
According to Putu, most of people have not yet realized that palm oil contains other nutrients, such as MCT (Medium Chain Triglyceride), Squalane, and antioxidant. “Unfortunately, the modern chemical purification of palm oil removes the high-value contents,” he said.
According to him, Kemenperin has now partnered with academicians and industrial players, including the Indonesian Palm Oil Society (MAKSI) and PT Kimia Farma, to develop the palm oil-based supplement through collaborative researches.
“We’re designing a draft of national standard (RSNI) for this product, so that it can be used to support the program of MBG, especially for school children, pregnant and breastfeeding mothers,” said Putu.
He said that during a meeting of research kick off on Friday (09/05/2025), Kemenperin stated its commitment to facilitate legal aspect, intellectual property management, and design a roadmap of national implementation. “Hopefully, the result of research can be soon adopted as one menu in the MBG program,” he said.
“This can become a new milestone in our development of national agroindustry. We’ll show that palm oil is not only for energy or export, but also as a tool to fight against stunting and malnutrition,” said Putu. (*)
