Zero Hunger Task Force Chief and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles introduced the government’s “new weapon against hunger,” the enhanced nutribun (e-nutribun) in a virtual launch on Wednesday (April 28).
According to Nograles, the e-nutribun, made mainly with carrots, has “more micronutrients like iron and vitamin A” and its “texture is softer and weighs 160 to 165 grams per piece, which is easier for children to hold and bite.”
It contains 504 calories, 17.8 grams of protein, 6.08 milligrams of iron, and 244 micrograms of vitamin A.
He also said that among the benefits of the e-nutribun is that it can be “distributed to its intended beneficiaries faster and safer.”
“in compliance with the minimum health protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the DOST-FNRI [Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Research Institute] food products are also easier to distribute directly to households of preschool and school children to minimize physical contact among large groups of people that is typical in feeding programs and food pack distribution in centers.”
The Palace official emphasized that the launch of the new e-nutribun serves as a “call to all entrepreneurs, prospective technology adopters, and other stakeholders to continue the fight against malnutrition and contribute to the government’s effort on zero hunger.”
“It is a welcome relief to see how we can work together solving hunger and providing sustainable solutions not as individuals, nor of a specific sector, but as a ‘whole of society’—this is the very concept of the Pilipinas Kontra Gutom movement, which is the collaboration of government and non-government actors and players,” he said.
The virtual launch of the e-nutribun was also attended by DOST officials Secretary Fortunato de la Peña and Undersecretaries Rowena Guevara and Renato Solidum, Department of Education Director Lope Santos III, FNRI Director Imelda Angeles-Agdeppa, Deputy Director Dr. Anthony Calibo, Department of Social Welfare and Development Director Wilma Naviamos, National Nutrition Council Executive Director Dr. Azucena Dayanghirang, and former FNRI Director Dr. Mario Capanzana. (DOST/NGS-jlo)
