The Value of Health Maintenance and Food Handlers in the MBG Program According to The Book Ta’līm al-Muta’allim by Al-Zarnūjī
Abstract
The Free Nutritious Meal Program (Makan Bergizi Gratis or MBG) is an Indonesian national policy aimed at improving nutritional status and supporting the quality of human resources development through the provision of nutritious meals for students and other target groups. However, the implementation of the MBG Program involves not only the fulfilment of nutritional requirements but also ensuring food hygiene, safety, halal status, and ethical responsibility among food handlers. Previous studies have predominantly examined MBG from the perspectives of nutrition, public health, and public policy, while its implementation from the perspective of Islamic educational ethics remains underexplored. This study aims to analyze health-care values and the role of food handlers in the MBG Program from the perspective of Burhān al-Dīn al-Zarnūjī's thought in Ta’līm al-Muta’allim. This study employs a qualitative library research method by analyzing relevant concepts in Ta’līm al-Muta’allim, official MBG Program documents, and supporting scholarly literature. The findings indicate that Al-Zarnūjī's concepts of dietary regulation, the selection of halālan ṭayyiban food, wara’, cleanliness, and careful conduct are relevant to the implementation of the MBG Program. These values emphasize that food handlers have an ethical responsibility to ensure the quality, safety, hygiene, and halal status of food throughout the food-service process. The study concludes that the success of the MBG Program should not be measured solely by the fulfilment of nutritional standards but also by the consistent application of food-safety, hygiene, halal, and ethical principles. The novelty of this study lies in applying Al-Zarnūjī's thought as an Islamic educational-ethics framework for examining the implementation of a contemporary national nutrition policy, thereby contributing to interdisciplinary scholarship in Islamic education, food safety, and nutrition policy.
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