“For a healthy Palawan, Choose Nutribun” was a quote mentioned by Adventist Hospital Palawan (AHP) Products, the newest adopter of the Enhanced Nutribun (e-nutribun) technology.
One of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST)-MIMAROPA’s assisted clients and largest bread producers in Palawan, AHP Products, has recently started producing the enhanced of the DOST-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI). The firm is known for offering healthy food options such as tofu, soya milk, and whole wheat bread in the province.
Following the DOST-FNRI’s virtual site visit at the Palawan Adventist Health Products’ facility, it has been found as an eligible adopter of the technology that led to their inclusion in the roster of the Batch 7 of the Enhanced Nutribun adopters. DOST-FNRI provided virtual training for the firm before it was finally awarded the production license on March 29, 2021.
According to the agency, e-nutribun is an improved and reformulated version of the Nutribun distributed during the ‘70s. It contains more micronutrients necessary to meet the nutrient requirements for children and the texture is made softer. Each serving of e-nutribun, weighing 160-165 grams per piece, has 504 calories and is enriched with 17.8 grams of protein, 6.08 milligrams of iron, and 244 micrograms of vitamin A. It has zero trans-fat and cholesterol.
The COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated issues in food security, malnutrition, and hunger in the country and the e-nutribun aims to help individuals, most especially children, meet their required nutritional needs. It was developed in response to the call of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Memorandum Circular No. 12 Series of 2020, or the Guidelines in the Implementation of the Supplementary Feeding Program During Community Quarantine or Other Similar Emergencies.
The first firm commercially producing the newly developed food technology in the province is St. Yves Bakeshop in Puerto Princesa City.
Oplan Kalusugan in Palawan
Since March 2021, Palawan Adventist Health Products has been supplying e-nutribun for the school-based feeding programs in the entire province under the Oplan Kalusugan of the Department of Education-Palawan (DepEd-Palawan). To date, it has already produced 150,000 pieces of e-nutribun.
“It is indeed beneficial that we adopted the technology since it helps us promote our advocacy of healthy eating,” said Ellen Mae Velasco, the Industries Manager of the Palawan Adventist Health Products. “e-nutribun not only brings sales and profit but also fulfills our mission of sharing God’s love through healing by serving nutrient-dense foods to the undernourished children in the province.”
She also said that, with all the positive impacts of the technology on their business, they create more job opportunities for the community in return.
In addition to the school-based feeding programs, the firm now plans on promoting and distributing e-nutribun to supermarkets and malls, and eventually expand throughout the province. Their application for PhilGeps certification is also already in the pipeline to enable participation in government procurement bids.
“We are very much grateful to DOST-MIMAROPA and DOST-FNRI for their unwavering support in our adoption of this new technology. We look forward to more years of partnership in improving the health and nutritional status of every Palaweño,” said Velasco revealing that they are interested to adopt more food technologies from the DOST-FNRI.
DOST-MIMAROPA said that Palawan Adventist Health Products is one of the innovative firms in the province. It is among the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP) graduates in 2017. It has also availed consultancy services through the Manufacturing Productivity Extension Program (MPEX) and the Consultancy for Agricultural and Manufacturing Productivity (CAMPI).
